A&E Trauma Unit

Reading A&E Live Waiting Times

Royal Berkshire Hospital

Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust

Latest report
7 hr 25 min
21 Oct 18:53
Average
8 hr 58 min
9 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
Milton Keynes Hospital A&E
40.9 mi away
Long wait
Milton Keynes Children's A&E
40.9 mi away
Long wait
Princess Alexandra Hospital A&E
50.1 mi away
Long wait
Princess Alexandra Hospital Children's A&E
50.1 mi away
Long wait
Princess Alexandra Hospital Same Day Emergency Care A&E
50.1 mi away
Long wait

There are also other nearby A&Es which collect wait times from the community, including Frimley Park Hospital, Basingstoke And North Hampshire Hospital and Prince Charles Hospital.

Contact & location
Craven Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 5AN
Switchboard: 0118 322 5111
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
Reading Rail Station15 min walk to A&E
Reading West Rail Station28 min walk to A&E
Earley Rail Station39 min walk to A&E
Bus stops
13 routes·2 operators·5 stops within walking distance
Redlands Road Foot (at, southbound)1 min walk to A&E
RBH Main Entrance (opp, southbound)2 min walk to A&E
19aReading BusesReading Town Centre
19bReading BusesReading Town Centre ↔ Lower Earley District Centre
19cReading BusesReading Town Centre
244Horseman CoachesReading Town Centre ↔ Winnersh
3Reading BusesReading Town Centre ↔ Wokingham Town Centre
300Reading BusesThames Valley Park ↔ Three Mile Cross
80Reading BusesWoodley ↔ Caversham Park Village
81Reading BusesWoodley ↔ Caversham Heights
9Reading BusesReading Town Centre ↔ GreenPark
92Reading BusesReading Town Centre ↔ Three Mile Cross
Craven Road (opp 1A, north-west)3 min walk to A&E
80Reading BusesWoodley ↔ Caversham Park Village
81Reading BusesWoodley ↔ Caversham Heights
RBH Redlands Road (adj, northbound)3 min walk to A&E
9bReading BusesGreenPark ↔ Reading Town Centre
RBH Main Entrance (adj, northbound)3 min walk to A&E
19aReading BusesReading Town Centre
19bReading BusesLower Earley District Centre ↔ Reading Town Centre
19cReading BusesReading Town Centre
3Reading BusesWokingham Town Centre ↔ Reading Town Centre
300Reading BusesThree Mile Cross ↔ Thames Valley Park
9Reading BusesGreenPark ↔ Reading Town Centre
92Reading BusesThree Mile Cross ↔ Reading Town Centre
9aReading BusesGreenPark ↔ Reading Town Centre
F32Reading BusesReading Stadium ↔ Woodley
Plan journey by public transport
What’s available here
Accessibility
Disabled ParkingInduction LoopSigning Service AvailableWheelchair Access
Accommodation
Access To TvInternet AccessMobile Phones PermittedPublic TelephoneSingle Sex Accommodation Only
Parking
Car ParkingCycle ParkingDisabled Parking
Faith Services
On-Site ChapelPrayer Area
Food and Amenities
CafePharmacyShop
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 is clean
Toilets are clean
Waiting area feels safe
Family
Children’s play area available
Separate children’s waiting area
Facilities
Enough seating in the waiting area
TV in the waiting area
Food and drink available nearby
Phone charging points available
Free WiFi is available
Mobile signal is good
Parking
Parking can get busy
Payment accepted: card
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 Berkshire Hospital

Royal Berkshire Hospital runs a 24-hour accident and emergency department, open to all ages, on Craven Road in Reading, Berkshire, part of Royal Berkshire 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 62 listed departments and services, from Audiology services (community) to Vascular surgery.

The Care Quality Commission rates it Good. It rated the hospital's urgent and emergency services Good when they were last inspected in January 2018. The site lists 1,332 parking spaces, 81 of them designated disabled bays, with patient parking averaging £2.40 an hour.

Official NHS performance

61.8%seen within 4 hours
11,425attendances in September 2026
60.4%England average for major A&Es

NHS England publishes these figures for Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation 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, 79% of 749 patients who responded at this site reported a positive experience. The trust's general and acute wards averaged 99.8% 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
2023-24141,78211,81564.0%9
2024-25136,80911,40163.4%100
2025-26132,71611,06064.7%198
2026-27 (6 months)67,36411,22763.9%97

Between 2023-24 and 2025-26, monthly A&E attendances fell 6% and the share seen within four hours changed little.

Frequently asked questions

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

The live waiting time for the A&E at Royal Berkshire 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 Royal Berkshire 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 Royal Berkshire 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 Royal Berkshire Hospital is doing right now. NHS England's most recent figures (September 2026) show 61.8% 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 Berkshire Hospital recently, submitting your wait takes a few seconds and helps others plan.

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

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

Where is Royal Berkshire Hospital and how do I get there?

Royal Berkshire Hospital is at Craven Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 5AN. For general enquiries call 0118 322 5111. Enter your postcode in the Getting here section for a door-to-door route.

Is parking free at Royal Berkshire Hospital?

No - patient and visitor parking here averages about £2.40 an hour (NHS estates return, 2024-25). The site lists 1,332 parking spaces, including 81 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 Berkshire Hospital?

Royal Berkshire Hospital is rated Good 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 Good when they were last inspected in January 2018. You can read the full CQC report.

Can children be treated at Royal Berkshire 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 Royal Berkshire Hospital a Major Trauma Centre?

No - Royal Berkshire 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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