A&E Trauma Unit

Manchester Royal Infirmary A&E Waiting Times

Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust

Latest report
18 hr
28 Sep 22:50
Average
6 hr 34 min
14 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
Warrington Hospital A&E
16.6 mi away
Long wait
Runcorn Urgent Treatment Centre
21.6 mi away
Long wait
Leighton Hospital A&E
25.9 mi away
Long wait
Leek MIU
26.3 mi away
Short wait
Haywood Hospital Walk-in Centre
28.0 mi away
Long wait

There are also other nearby A&Es which collect wait times from the community, including Ancoats, Salford Royal and Prestwich.

Contact & location
Oxford Road, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M13 9WL
Switchboard: 0161 276 1234
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
Ardwick Rail Station17 min walk to A&E
Manchester Piccadilly Rail Station21 min walk to A&E
Manchester Oxford Road Rail Station23 min walk to A&E
Deansgate Rail Station29 min walk to A&E
Ashburys Rail Station29 min walk to A&E
Metro / tram
Piccadilly (Manchester Metrolink)23 min walk to A&E
New Islington (Manchester Metrolink)28 min walk to A&E
St Peter's Square (Manchester Metrolink)28 min walk to A&E
Piccadilly Gardens (Manchester Metrolink)29 min walk to A&E
Deansgate-Castlefield (Manchester Metrolink)29 min walk to A&E
Bus stops
15 routes·1 operator·5 stops within walking distance
Manchester Royal Infirmary (Stop R, south-east)2 min walk to A&E
Swinton Grove (Stop L, north-west)2 min walk to A&E
41Transport for Greater ManchesterSale ↔ Middleton
50Transport for Greater ManchesterEast Didsbury ↔ MediaCityUK
51Transport for Greater ManchesterEast Didsbury ↔ MediaCityUK
751Transport for Greater ManchesterBurnage ↔ Piccadilly Gardens
Swinton Grove (Stop M, south-east)2 min walk to A&E
50Transport for Greater ManchesterMediaCityUK ↔ East Didsbury
Manchester Royal Infirmary (Stop S, northbound)3 min walk to A&E
18Transport for Greater ManchesterManchester Royal Infirmary ↔ Langley
V1Transport for Greater ManchesterManchester Royal Infirmary ↔ Leigh
V2Transport for Greater ManchesterManchester Royal Infirmary ↔ Atherton
V4Transport for Greater ManchesterManchester Royal Infirmary ↔ Ellenbrook
St Mary's (Stop R, eastbound)3 min walk to A&E
142Transport for Greater ManchesterPiccadilly Gardens ↔ East Didsbury
143Transport for Greater ManchesterPiccadilly Gardens ↔ West Didsbury
147Transport for Greater ManchesterAncoats ↔ West Didsbury
41Transport for Greater ManchesterMiddleton ↔ Sale
42Transport for Greater ManchesterPiccadilly Gardens ↔ Stockport
43Transport for Greater ManchesterPiccadilly Gardens ↔ Manchester Airport
742Transport for Greater ManchesterHulme ↔ Green End
749Transport for Greater ManchesterMoss Side ↔ Burnage
Plan journey by public transport
Recent visitor feedbackreported by visitors
Overall
Not recommended by visitors
Staff
Staff are friendly and helpful
Not always kept informed about wait times
2 of 3 say triage was slow
Environment
3 of 3 say the waiting area was not clean
Toilets could be cleaner
Waiting area can feel unsafe
Family
No children’s play area
No separate children’s waiting area
Facilities
Enough seating in the waiting area
TV in the waiting area
No food or drink available nearby
Phone charging points available
Free WiFi is available
Mobile signal is poor
Based on 3 visitor responses in the last 6 months. This information is collected through a short anonymous survey shown to visitors on this page.

About Manchester Royal Infirmary

Manchester Royal Infirmary runs a 24-hour accident and emergency department, open to under 16 years, on Oxford Road in Manchester, Greater Manchester, part of Manchester University NHS Foundation 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 Allergy services in hospital to Vascular surgery.

The Care Quality Commission rates it Requires Improvement, last inspected in October 2018. It rated the hospital's urgent and emergency services Requires Improvement when they were last inspected in March 2019.

Official NHS performance

59.0%seen within 4 hours
28,182attendances in September 2026
60.4%England average for major A&Es

NHS England publishes these figures for Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust as a whole, covering every A&E the trust runs rather than this site alone. That is below 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, 79% of 892 patients who responded at this site reported a positive experience. The trust's general and acute wards averaged 90.2% 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
2023-24275,91722,99354.7%3,489
2024-25293,06924,42254.1%4,604
2025-26309,66025,80559.7%1,217
2026-27 (6 months)163,49627,24962.0%549

Between 2023-24 and 2025-26, monthly A&E attendances rose 12% and the share seen within four hours improved by 5.0 percentage points.

Frequently asked questions

How do I check the current A&E wait time at Manchester Royal Infirmary?

The live waiting time for the A&E at Manchester Royal Infirmary 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 Manchester Royal Infirmary 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 Manchester Royal Infirmary 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 Manchester Royal Infirmary is doing right now. NHS England's most recent figures (September 2026) show 59.0% 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 Manchester Royal Infirmary recently, submitting your wait takes a few seconds and helps others plan.

Is the A&E at Manchester Royal Infirmary open 24 hours?

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

Where is Manchester Royal Infirmary and how do I get there?

Manchester Royal Infirmary is at Oxford Road, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M13 9WL. For general enquiries call 0161 276 1234. Enter your postcode in the Getting here section for a door-to-door route.

What is the CQC rating for Manchester Royal Infirmary?

Manchester Royal Infirmary is rated Requires Improvement overall by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the independent regulator of health and social care in England, following an inspection in October 2018. It rated the hospital's urgent and emergency services Requires Improvement when they were last inspected in March 2019. You can read the full CQC report.

Can children be treated at Manchester Royal Infirmary A&E?

This A&E serves: Under 16 years. 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 Manchester Royal Infirmary a Major Trauma Centre?

No - Manchester Royal Infirmary 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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