A&E Trauma Unit

Maidstone A&E Live Waiting Times

Maidstone Hospital

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust

2 hr
historically at this time
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.

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Past NHS Data

This hospital previously had a live data feed. The averages below are based on 100 past readings. Last live update: 15 Oct 12:54.

1 hr 9 min
overall average
3 hr
longest recorded

Typical wait by hour of day

Nearby A&E & urgent care
Sittingbourne MIU
11.6 mi away
Short wait
Sheppey MIU
16.5 mi away
Long wait
Princess Alexandra Hospital Same Day Emergency Care A&E
38.4 mi away
Long wait
Princess Alexandra Hospital A&E
38.4 mi away
Long wait
Princess Alexandra Hospital Children's A&E
38.4 mi away
Long wait

There are also other nearby A&Es which collect wait times from the community, including Medway Maritime Hospital, Tunbridge Wells Hospital At Pembury and Sevenoaks Hospital.

Contact & location
Hermitage Lane, Maidstone, ME16 9QQ
Switchboard: 01622 729000
Opening times
MondayOpen 24 hours
TuesdayOpen 24 hours
WednesdayOpen 24 hours
ThursdayOpen 24 hours
FridayOpen 24 hours
SaturdayOpen 24 hours
Sunday TodayOpen 24 hours
Getting here
Train stations
Barming Rail Station16 min walk to A&E
Maidstone Barracks Rail Station25 min walk to A&E
East Farleigh Rail Station27 min walk to A&E
Maidstone West Rail Station27 min walk to A&E
Maidstone East Rail Station31 min walk to A&E
Bus stops
13 routes·3 operators·5 stops within walking distance
Maidstone Hospital (arrivals, southbound)3 min walk to A&E
3Arriva UK BusMaidstone ↔ Barming Heath
60Nu-VentureMaidstone ↔ Barming Heath
6XArriva UK BusPembury ↔ Barming Heath
Maidstone Hospital (o/s, southbound)3 min walk to A&E
3Arriva UK BusBarming Heath ↔ Maidstone
3Arriva Kent & Surrey
575Arriva UK BusSnodland ↔ Vinters Park
575Arriva Kent & Surrey
6XArriva UK BusMaidstone ↔ Pembury
6XArriva Kent & Surrey
Maidstone Hospital (adj, southbound)3 min walk to A&E
575Arriva UK BusMaidstone ↔ Kings Hill
60Nu-VentureBarming Heath ↔ Maidstone
Bramble Close (opp, northbound)6 min walk to A&E
5Arriva UK BusThe Moor ↔ Maidstone
578Nu-VentureLarkfield ↔ Vinters Park
79Nu-VentureMaidstone ↔ Allington
Bramble Close (adj, southbound)6 min walk to A&E
578Nu-VentureVinters Park ↔ Barming
587Nu-VentureMaidstone ↔ West Malling
79Nu-VentureAllington ↔ Maidstone
89Arriva UK BusGrafty Green ↔ Maidstone
9Arriva UK BusDownswood ↔ Maidstone
Plan journey by public transport
What’s available here
Accessibility
Disabled ParkingDisabled WcWheelchair Access
Accommodation
Access To TvPublic Telephone
Parking
Car ParkingDisabled Parking
Counselling and Support
Translation Services
Food and Amenities
CafeShop
Recent visitor feedbackreported by visitors
Overall
4 of 7 would recommend this department
Staff
4 of 7 say staff were friendly and helpful
5 of 7 were not kept informed about their wait
5 of 7 say triage was slow
Environment
80% say the waiting area was clean
6 of 7 say the toilets were clean
6 of 6 felt safe in the waiting area
Family
4 of 6 say there is no children’s play area
4 of 5 say there is no separate children’s waiting area
Facilities
6 of 9 say there is not enough seating
4 of 8 say there is a TV in the waiting area
6 of 6 say food and drink is available nearby
4 of 6 say there are no phone charging points
6 of 7 say free WiFi is available
6 of 7 say mobile signal is good
Parking
8 of 9 found parking easily
Payment accepted: app, card
Based on 10 visitor responses in the last 6 months. This information is collected through a short anonymous survey shown to visitors on this page.

About Maidstone Hospital

Maidstone Hospital runs a 24-hour accident and emergency department, open to 12 months or over, on Hermitage Lane in Maidstone, Kent, part of Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells 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 40 listed departments and services, from Breast cancer services to Vascular surgery.

The Care Quality Commission rates it Requires Improvement. It rated the hospital's urgent and emergency services Requires Improvement when they were last inspected in March 2018. The site lists 1,659 parking spaces, 45 of them designated disabled bays, with patient parking averaging £1.43 an hour. In our visitor surveys, 80% said the waiting area was clean.

Official NHS performance

72.5%seen within 4 hours
20,578attendances in September 2026
60.4%England average for major A&Es

NHS England publishes these figures for Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells 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, 78% of 682 patients who responded at this site reported a positive experience. The trust's general and acute wards averaged 88.5% 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
2023-24215,77317,98183.6%322
2024-25216,48218,04080.7%1,083
2025-26224,93218,74477.7%2,836
2026-27 (6 months)115,71319,28675.0%1,993

Between 2023-24 and 2025-26, monthly A&E attendances rose 4% and the share seen within four hours fell by 5.9 percentage points.

Frequently asked questions

How do I check the current A&E wait time at Maidstone Hospital?

The live waiting time for the A&E at Maidstone 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 Maidstone 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 Maidstone 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 Maidstone Hospital is doing right now. NHS England's most recent figures (September 2026) show 72.5% 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 Maidstone Hospital recently, submitting your wait takes a few seconds and helps others plan.

Is the A&E at Maidstone Hospital open 24 hours?

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

Where is Maidstone Hospital and how do I get there?

Maidstone Hospital is at Hermitage Lane, Maidstone, ME16 9QQ. For general enquiries call 01622 729000. Enter your postcode in the Getting here section for a door-to-door route.

Is parking free at Maidstone Hospital?

No - patient and visitor parking here averages about £1.43 an hour (NHS estates return, 2024-25). The site lists 1,659 parking spaces, including 45 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 Maidstone Hospital?

Maidstone Hospital is rated Requires Improvement overall by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the independent regulator of health and social care in England. It rated the hospital's urgent and emergency services Requires Improvement when they were last inspected in March 2018. You can read the full CQC report.

Can children be treated at Maidstone Hospital A&E?

This A&E serves: 12 months 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 Maidstone Hospital a Major Trauma Centre?

No - Maidstone 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 previously had a live data feed but is no longer being updated. Historical averages from past NHS data are shown below. Current waiting times are reported by visitors and may not reflect actual 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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