A&E Trauma Unit

Wigan A&E Live Waiting Times

Royal Albert Edward Infirmary

Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Latest report
24 hr
06 Oct 21:30
Average
13 hr
4 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
11.4 mi away
Long wait
Runcorn Urgent Treatment Centre
16.4 mi away
Long wait
Leighton Hospital A&E
31.1 mi away
Long wait
Haywood Hospital Walk-in Centre
39.1 mi away
Long wait
Whitchurch MIU
40.5 mi away
Long wait

There are also other nearby A&Es which collect wait times from the community, including Skelmersdale, Leigh and Chorley And South Ribble Hospital.

Contact & location
Wigan Lane, Wigan, Lancashire, WN1 2NN
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
Wigan Wallgate Rail Station19 min walk to A&E
Wigan North Western Rail Station20 min walk to A&E
Ince (Manchester) Rail Station31 min walk to A&E
Hindley Rail Station50 min walk to A&E
Pemberton Rail Station51 min walk to A&E
Bus stops
3 routes·2 operators·5 stops within walking distance
Royal Albert Edward Infirmary (Stop A, northbound)2 min walk to A&E
Royal Albert Edward Infirmary (Stop C, northbound)2 min walk to A&E
110Holmeswood Coaches LtdWigan ↔ Preston City Centre
631Transport for Greater ManchesterWigan ↔ Standish
632Transport for Greater ManchesterWigan ↔ Chorley Town Centre
Royal Albert Edward Infirmary (Stop B, northbound)2 min walk to A&E
Royal Albert Edward Infirmary (Stop D, southbound)2 min walk to A&E
110Holmeswood Coaches LtdPreston City Centre ↔ Wigan
631Transport for Greater ManchesterStandish ↔ Wigan
632Transport for Greater ManchesterChorley Town Centre ↔ Wigan
Clifton Crescent (nr, northbound)3 min walk to A&E
110Holmeswood Coaches LtdWigan ↔ Preston City Centre
631Transport for Greater ManchesterWigan ↔ Standish
632Transport for Greater ManchesterWigan ↔ Chorley Town Centre
Plan journey by public transport
What’s available here
Accessibility
Disabled ParkingInduction LoopSigning Service AvailableWheelchair Access
Accommodation
Public Telephone
Parking
Car ParkingDisabled Parking
Food and Amenities
CafeShop
Recent visitor feedbackreported by visitors
Facilities
Enough seating in the waiting area
No TV in the waiting area
Free WiFi is available
Mobile signal is good
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 Royal Albert Edward Infirmary

Royal Albert Edward Infirmary runs a 24-hour accident and emergency department, open to all ages, on Wigan Lane in Wigan, Greater Manchester, part of Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals 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 35 listed departments and services, from Alcohol screening services to Vascular surgery.

The Care Quality Commission rates it Good, last inspected in March 2024. The site lists 679 parking spaces, 18 of them designated disabled bays, with patient parking averaging £2.32 an hour.

Official NHS performance

43.4%seen within 4 hours
7,034attendances in September 2026
60.4%England average for major A&Es

NHS England publishes these figures for Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals 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, 67% of 772 patients who responded at this site reported a positive experience. The trust's general and acute wards averaged 82.8% 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
2023-2488,0727,33947.3%4,151
2024-2585,4087,11749.7%4,960
2025-2688,0947,34153.0%5,107
2026-27 (6 months)40,7456,79150.9%1,293

Between 2023-24 and 2025-26, monthly A&E attendances stayed broadly flat 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 Royal Albert Edward Infirmary?

The live waiting time for the A&E at Royal Albert Edward 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 Royal Albert Edward 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 Royal Albert Edward 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 Royal Albert Edward Infirmary is doing right now. NHS England's most recent figures (September 2026) show 43.4% 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 Royal Albert Edward Infirmary recently, submitting your wait takes a few seconds and helps others plan.

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

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

Where is Royal Albert Edward Infirmary and how do I get there?

Royal Albert Edward Infirmary is at Wigan Lane, Wigan, Lancashire, WN1 2NN. For general enquiries call 01942 244000. Enter your postcode in the Getting here section for a door-to-door route.

Is parking free at Royal Albert Edward Infirmary?

No - patient and visitor parking here averages about £2.32 an hour (NHS estates return, 2024-25). The site lists 679 parking spaces, including 18 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 Royal Albert Edward Infirmary?

Royal Albert Edward Infirmary is rated Good overall by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the independent regulator of health and social care in England, following an inspection in March 2024. You can read the full CQC report.

Can children be treated at Royal Albert Edward Infirmary 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 Royal Albert Edward Infirmary a Major Trauma Centre?

No - Royal Albert Edward 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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