A&E Trauma Unit

Portsmouth A&E Live Waiting Times

Queen Alexandra Hospital

Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust

Latest report
9 hr 35 min
21 Oct 10:55
Average
11 hr 6 min
10 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
Frome Urgent Treatment Centre
60.2 mi away
Long wait
Yeovil District Hospital A&E
68.5 mi away
Long wait
Shepton Mallet Urgent Treatment Centre
68.6 mi away
Short wait
West Mendip (Glastonbury) Urgent Treatment Centre
74.0 mi away
Long wait
Princess Alexandra Hospital A&E
80.9 mi away
Long wait

There are also other nearby A&Es which collect wait times from the community, including St Richard's Hospital, St Mary's Hospital and Southampton General Hospital.

Contact & location
Southwick Hill Road, Cosham, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO6 3LY
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
Cosham Rail Station12 min walk to A&E
Hilsea Rail Station32 min walk to A&E
Portchester Rail Station48 min walk to A&E
Bus stops
9 routes·3 operators·5 stops within walking distance
QA Hospital North (A&E stop C, south-west)1 min walk to A&E
20StagecoachHavant ↔ Portsmouth
7First BusWecock ↔ Portsmouth
8First BusClanfield ↔ Portsmouth
QA1First BusSouthwick ↔ QA Hospital
QA Hospital North (Stop B, eastbound)2 min walk to A&E
20StagecoachPortsmouth ↔ Havant
7First BusPortsmouth ↔ Wecock
7First Hants & Dor Ltd
8First BusPortsmouth ↔ Clanfield
8First Hants & Dor Ltd
QA1First BusQA Hospital ↔ Southwick
Orkney Road (Stop J, south-east)2 min walk to A&E
20StagecoachPortsmouth ↔ Havant
7First BusPortsmouth ↔ Wecock
7First Hants & Dor Ltd
8First BusPortsmouth ↔ Clanfield
8First Hants & Dor Ltd
Orkney Road (Stand H, north-west)3 min walk to A&E
20StagecoachHavant ↔ Portsmouth
7First BusWecock ↔ Portsmouth
8First BusClanfield ↔ Portsmouth
QA Hospital Main (Stop F, southbound)3 min walk to A&E
2First BusPaulsgrove ↔ Portsmouth
3First BusFareham ↔ Southsea
3First Hants & Dor Ltd
7First BusWecock ↔ Portsmouth
8First BusClanfield ↔ Portsmouth
Plan journey by public transport
What’s available here
Accessibility
Disabled ParkingInduction LoopSigning Service AvailableWheelchair Access
Accommodation
Access To TvPublic TelephoneSingle Sex Accommodation Only
Parking
Car ParkingDisabled Parking
Food and Amenities
CafeShop
Recent visitor feedbackreported by visitors
Overall
Not recommended by visitors
Staff
Staff are friendly and helpful
Staff keep you informed about wait times
Triage is typically quick
Environment
Waiting area is clean
Toilets are clean
Waiting area feels safe
Family
No children’s play area
No separate children’s waiting area
Facilities
Seating can be limited
TV in the waiting area
No food or drink available nearby
No phone charging points
No free WiFi
Mobile signal is poor
Parking
Parking often requires parking elsewhere
Based on 1 visitor response in the last 6 months. This information is collected through a short anonymous survey shown to visitors on this page.

About Queen Alexandra Hospital

Queen Alexandra Hospital runs a 24-hour accident and emergency department, open to all ages, on Southwick Hill Road in Portsmouth, Hampshire, part of Portsmouth Hospitals University 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 46 listed departments and services, from Bariatric surgery to Vascular surgery.

The Care Quality Commission rates it Good, last inspected in December 2017. The site lists 1,853 parking spaces, 123 of them designated disabled bays, with patient parking averaging £1.31 an hour.

Official NHS performance

59.3%seen within 4 hours
11,768attendances in September 2026
60.4%England average for major A&Es

NHS England publishes these figures for Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS 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, 83% of 1,068 patients who responded at this site reported a positive experience. The trust's general and acute wards averaged 94.4% 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
2023-24114,2479,52155.9%227
2024-25120,57210,04850.9%1,535
2025-26127,35810,61361.7%11,685
2026-27 (6 months)67,95311,32661.1%6,719

Between 2023-24 and 2025-26, monthly A&E attendances rose 11% and the share seen within four hours improved by 5.7 percentage points.

Frequently asked questions

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

The live waiting time for the A&E at Queen Alexandra 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 Queen Alexandra 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 Queen Alexandra 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 Queen Alexandra Hospital is doing right now. NHS England's most recent figures (September 2026) show 59.3% 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 Queen Alexandra Hospital recently, submitting your wait takes a few seconds and helps others plan.

Is the A&E at Queen Alexandra Hospital open 24 hours?

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

Where is Queen Alexandra Hospital and how do I get there?

Queen Alexandra Hospital is at Southwick Hill Road, Cosham, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO6 3LY. For general enquiries call 023 9228 6000. Enter your postcode in the Getting here section for a door-to-door route.

Is parking free at Queen Alexandra Hospital?

No - patient and visitor parking here averages about £1.31 an hour (NHS estates return, 2024-25). The site lists 1,853 parking spaces, including 123 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 Queen Alexandra Hospital?

Queen Alexandra 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 December 2017. You can read the full CQC report.

Can children be treated at Queen Alexandra 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 Queen Alexandra Hospital a Major Trauma Centre?

No - Queen Alexandra 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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