A&E Trauma Unit

Eastbourne A&E Live Waiting Times

Eastbourne District General Hospital

East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust

Latest report
6 hr 30 min
15 Oct 01:38
Average
5 hr 36 min
7 reports
Reported by visitors, not the hospital. Waits shown here are typical for non-urgent cases. Patients are seen in order of clinical priority, so the most seriously ill are always seen first no matter how busy the department is.
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0 minutes total
Community reported wait times

These times are reported by visitors and may not reflect current conditions.

Nearby A&E & urgent care
Sittingbourne MIU
43.0 mi away
Long wait
Sheppey MIU
49.0 mi away
Long wait
Princess Alexandra Hospital Same Day Emergency Care A&E
68.5 mi away
Long wait
Princess Alexandra Hospital Children's A&E
68.5 mi away
Long wait
Princess Alexandra Hospital A&E
68.5 mi away
Long wait

There are also other nearby A&Es which collect wait times from the community, including Conquest Hospital, Royal Sussex County Hospital and Princess Royal Hospital.

Contact & location
Kings Drive, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN21 2UD
Opening times
Monday TodayOpen 24 hours
TuesdayOpen 24 hours
WednesdayOpen 24 hours
ThursdayOpen 24 hours
FridayOpen 24 hours
SaturdayOpen 24 hours
SundayOpen 24 hours
Getting here
Train stations
Hampden Park (Sussex) Rail Station17 min walk to A&E
Eastbourne Rail Station26 min walk to A&E
Polegate Rail Station52 min walk to A&E
Bus stops
19 routes·6 operators·5 stops within walking distance
District General Hospital Grounds (o/s, southbound)2 min walk to A&E
24Cuckmere BusesEastbourne Town Centre ↔ Berwick
48Cuckmere BusesEastbourne Town Centre ↔ Lower Dicker
8StagecoachEastbourne Town Centre ↔ Beachlands
District General Hospital (adj, southbound)2 min walk to A&E
125Compass TravelLewes ↔ Eastbourne Town Centre
1AStagecoachHamlands ↔ Shinewater
25Cuckmere BusesLewes ↔ Eastbourne Town Centre
26Cuckmere BusesSeaford ↔ Eastbourne Town Centre
28Go-AheadBrighton ↔ Eastbourne Town Centre
50Cuckmere BusesHailsham ↔ Langney
500Go-AheadGatwick Airport ↔ Eastbourne Town Centre
51StagecoachHeathfield ↔ Eastbourne Town Centre
52StagecoachHellingly ↔ Sovereign Harbour South
53StagecoachBexhill ↔ Eastbourne Town Centre
59StagecoachEastbourne ↔ Shinewater
6StagecoachLangney ↔ Eastbourne Town Centre
6AStagecoachPolegate ↔ Eastbourne Town Centre
8StagecoachBeachlands ↔ Eastbourne Town Centre
LINKStagecoachEastbourne Town Centre
District General Hospital (opp, northbound)2 min walk to A&E
125Compass TravelEastbourne Town Centre ↔ Lewes
1AStagecoachShinewater ↔ Willingdon Trees
24Cuckmere BusesEastbourne Town Centre ↔ Berwick
25Cuckmere BusesEastbourne Town Centre ↔ Lewes
26Cuckmere BusesEastbourne Town Centre ↔ Seaford
28Go-AheadEastbourne Town Centre ↔ Brighton
48Cuckmere BusesEastbourne Town Centre ↔ Lower Dicker
50Cuckmere BusesLangney ↔ Hailsham
500Go-AheadEastbourne Town Centre ↔ Gatwick Airport
500Metrobus
51StagecoachEastbourne Town Centre ↔ Heathfield
52StagecoachSovereign Harbour South ↔ Hellingly
53StagecoachEastbourne Town Centre ↔ Bexhill
54Brighton & Hove
6StagecoachEastbourne Town Centre ↔ Langney
8StagecoachEastbourne Town Centre ↔ Beachlands
LINKStagecoachEastbourne Town Centre
St Clement's Court (o/s, southbound)4 min walk to A&E
St Clement's Court (opp, northbound)4 min walk to A&E
Plan journey by public transport
What’s available here
Accessibility
Disabled ParkingDisabled WcInduction LoopSigning Service AvailableWheelchair Access
Accommodation
Access To TvInternet AccessMobile Phones PermittedPublic Telephone
Parking
Car ParkingCycle ParkingDisabled Parking
Counselling and Support
Bereavement SupportTranslation Services
Faith Services
On-Site ChapelPrayer Area
Food and Amenities
CafePatient LibraryShop

About Eastbourne District General Hospital

Eastbourne District General Hospital runs a 24-hour accident and emergency department, open to 16 years or over, on Kings Drive in Eastbourne, East Sussex, part of East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust. It is a designated Trauma Unit, equipped to treat significant injuries and to stabilise the most serious cases before transfer to a regional Major Trauma Centre. The wider site runs 37 listed departments and services, from Adult Mental Illness to Vascular surgery.

The Care Quality Commission rates it Good, last inspected in April 2022. It rated the hospital's urgent and emergency services Requires Improvement when they were last inspected in June 2018. The site lists 1,150 parking spaces, 35 of them designated disabled bays, with patient parking averaging £2.00 an hour.

Official NHS performance

62.0%seen within 4 hours
10,828attendances in September 2026
60.4%England average for major A&Es

NHS England publishes these figures for East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust as a whole, covering every A&E the trust runs rather than this site alone. That is above the England average of 60.4% for major A&E departments over the same month.

In the NHS Friends and Family Test for August 2026, 74% of 528 patients who responded at this site reported a positive experience. The trust's general and acute wards averaged 91.0% overnight bed occupancy in the quarter to March 2026 - full wards are the main reason admitted patients queue in A&E.

Attendances by year

NHS yearA&E attendancesMonthly averageWithin 4 hours12hr+ waits to admit
2023-24110,0079,16761.5%6
2024-25107,3288,94460.0%507
2025-26107,3178,94358.9%744
2026-27 (6 months)61,80410,30160.7%1,313

Between 2023-24 and 2025-26, monthly A&E attendances fell 2% and the share seen within four hours fell by 2.6 percentage points.

Frequently asked questions

How do I check the current A&E wait time at Eastbourne District General Hospital?

The live waiting time for the A&E at Eastbourne District General Hospital is shown at the top of this page, together with when it was last updated. Times are reported by recent visitors and carry a community badge - after your own visit you can submit your wait time in a few seconds to help the next person.

When is the A&E at Eastbourne District General Hospital quietest?

Patterns vary by hospital, but across UK urgent and emergency care the quietest window is usually the early morning, roughly 4am to 7am, with demand building through the afternoon and peaking in the evening. Friday and Saturday nights and Monday mornings are typically the busiest periods. See our guide to the best time to visit for more detail.

How long will I wait at Eastbourne District General Hospital A&E?

Patients are triaged on arrival and the most urgent cases are always seen first, so your wait depends on how serious your condition is and how busy the department is. Hospitals in England work to the NHS four-hour standard - the aim is to admit, transfer or discharge patients within four hours of arrival. The live figure on this page shows how Eastbourne District General Hospital is doing right now. NHS England's most recent figures (September 2026) show 62.0% of patients across the trust's A&E departments were seen within four hours.

How often are the waiting times on this page updated?

This page updates whenever a visitor submits a new wait time, so freshness depends on recent reports - each entry shows when that person visited. If you have been to Eastbourne District General Hospital recently, submitting your wait takes a few seconds and helps others plan.

Is the A&E at Eastbourne District General Hospital open 24 hours?

Yes - the A&E at Eastbourne District General Hospital is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year. In a life-threatening emergency always call 999.

Where is Eastbourne District General Hospital and how do I get there?

Eastbourne District General Hospital is at Kings Drive, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN21 2UD. For general enquiries call 0300 131 4500. Enter your postcode in the Getting here section for a door-to-door route.

Is parking free at Eastbourne District General Hospital?

No - patient and visitor parking here averages about £2.00 an hour (NHS estates return, 2024-25). The site lists 1,150 parking spaces, including 35 designated disabled bays. Concessions often apply for blue badge holders, frequent attenders and some patients - check the hospital's own parking page.

What is the CQC rating for Eastbourne District General Hospital?

Eastbourne District General Hospital is rated Good overall by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the independent regulator of health and social care in England, following an inspection in April 2022. It rated the hospital's urgent and emergency services Requires Improvement when they were last inspected in June 2018. You can read the full CQC report.

Can children be treated at Eastbourne District General Hospital A&E?

This A&E serves: 16 years or over. If your child's age group is not treated here, the nearby section on this page lists alternatives - or call NHS 111 for urgent advice and 999 in an emergency.

Is Eastbourne District General Hospital a Major Trauma Centre?

No - Eastbourne District General Hospital is a designated Trauma Unit. It treats significant injuries and stabilises the most complex cases before transfer to a regional Major Trauma Centre.
About this data
This hospital does not currently have a live data source. The waiting times shown here are reported by visitors and may not reflect current conditions. You can see how we source data for every hospital on our data sources page. Department labels shown (e.g. A&E, MIU, UTC) are our interpretation of the source data and may not match the hospital’s own terminology. If any information is incorrect, please let us know.
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