A&E Trauma Unit

Orpington A&E Live Waiting Times

Princess Royal University Hospital

King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Latest report
6 hr 30 min
02 Oct 13:00
Average
6 hr 6 min
13 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
Princess Alexandra Hospital Same Day Emergency Care A&E
28.0 mi away
Long wait
Princess Alexandra Hospital Children's A&E
28.0 mi away
Long wait
Princess Alexandra Hospital A&E
28.0 mi away
Long wait
Sittingbourne MIU
29.4 mi away
Long wait
Sheppey MIU
31.9 mi away
Long wait

There are also other nearby A&Es which collect wait times from the community, including University Hospital Lewisham, Croydon University Hospital and Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

Contact & location
Farnborough Common, Orpington, Kent, BR6 8ND
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
Orpington Station28 min walk to A&E
Petts Wood34 min walk to A&E
Hayes (Kent)44 min walk to A&E
Chelsfield45 min walk to A&E
Bickley Station49 min walk to A&E
Bus stops
7 routes·3 operators·5 stops within walking distance
Princess Royal University Hosp (Stop HA, south-east)1 min walk to A&E
261StagecoachLocksbottom ↔ Lewisham
Princess Royal University Hosp (Stop HB, westbound)2 min walk to A&E
R3Go-AheadOrpington ↔ Locksbottom
R4Go-AheadLocksbottom ↔ St Mary Cray
Locksbottom / Pallant Way (Stop HP, south-west)3 min walk to A&E
3GO-Coach Hire LtdLocksbottom ↔ Sevenoaks
336StagecoachLocksbottom ↔ Catford
Starts Hill Road (->N)3 min walk to A&E
R4Go-AheadSt Mary Cray ↔ Locksbottom
Farnborough Common / P R U Hospital (Stop HC, south-east)3 min walk to A&E
358Go-AheadCrystal Palace ↔ Orpington
684StagecoachAperfield ↔ Orpington
Plan journey by public transport
What’s available here
Parking
Car ParkingCycle ParkingDisabled Parking
Faith Services
On-Site ChapelPrayer Area
Food and Amenities
CafePatient LibraryPharmacyShop
Recent visitor feedbackreported by visitors
Overall
Not recommended by visitors
Staff
Staff can be unhelpful
Not always kept informed about wait times
Triage can be slow
Environment
Waiting area could be cleaner
Toilets could be cleaner
Facilities
Enough seating in the waiting area
No free WiFi
Mobile signal is poor
Parking
Parking often requires parking elsewhere
Based on 2 visitor responses in the last 6 months. This information is collected through a short anonymous survey shown to visitors on this page.

About Princess Royal University Hospital

Princess Royal University Hospital runs a 24-hour accident and emergency department, open to all ages, on Farnborough Common in Orpington, Greater London, part of King's College Hospital 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 41 listed departments and services, from Bariatric surgery to Vascular surgery.

The Care Quality Commission rates it Requires Improvement, last inspected in May 2013. It rated the hospital's urgent and emergency services Requires Improvement when they were last inspected in August 2021. The site lists 730 parking spaces, 27 of them designated disabled bays, with patient parking averaging £1.33 an hour.

Official NHS performance

51.7%seen within 4 hours
16,197attendances in September 2026
60.4%England average for major A&Es

NHS England publishes these figures for King's College Hospital 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, 73% of 412 patients who responded at this site reported a positive experience. The trust's general and acute wards averaged 90.8% 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
2023-24177,84814,82149.4%7,987
2024-25184,65615,38855.8%10,156
2025-26186,67815,55656.8%8,904
2026-27 (6 months)93,91115,65255.1%4,227

Between 2023-24 and 2025-26, monthly A&E attendances rose 5% and the share seen within four hours improved by 7.4 percentage points.

Frequently asked questions

How do I check the current A&E wait time at Princess Royal University Hospital?

The live waiting time for the A&E at Princess Royal University 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 Princess Royal University 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 Princess Royal University 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 Princess Royal University Hospital is doing right now. NHS England's most recent figures (September 2026) show 51.7% 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 Princess Royal University Hospital recently, submitting your wait takes a few seconds and helps others plan.

Is the A&E at Princess Royal University Hospital open 24 hours?

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

Where is Princess Royal University Hospital and how do I get there?

Princess Royal University Hospital is at Farnborough Common, Orpington, Kent, BR6 8ND. For general enquiries call 01689 863000. Enter your postcode in the Getting here section for a door-to-door route.

Is parking free at Princess Royal University Hospital?

No - patient and visitor parking here averages about £1.33 an hour (NHS estates return, 2024-25). The site lists 730 parking spaces, including 27 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 Princess Royal University Hospital?

Princess Royal University Hospital 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 May 2013. It rated the hospital's urgent and emergency services Requires Improvement when they were last inspected in August 2021. You can read the full CQC report.

Can children be treated at Princess Royal University Hospital A&E?

This A&E serves: All ages. 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 Princess Royal University Hospital a Major Trauma Centre?

No - Princess Royal University 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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