A&E Trauma Unit

Bournemouth A&E Live Waiting Times

Royal Bournemouth Hospital

University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust

Latest report
2 hr 30 min
16 Oct 11:13
Average
7 hr 6 min
19 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
Yeovil District Hospital A&E
38.0 mi away
Long wait
Frome Urgent Treatment Centre
39.9 mi away
Long wait
Shepton Mallet Urgent Treatment Centre
44.2 mi away
Short wait
West Mendip (Glastonbury) Urgent Treatment Centre
47.6 mi away
Long wait
Chard Urgent Treatment Centre
50.1 mi away
Long wait

There are also other nearby A&Es which collect wait times from the community, including Poole Hospital, Salisbury District Hospital and Southampton General Hospital.

Contact & location
Castle Lane East, Bournemouth, BH7 7DW
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
Pokesdown Rail Station24 min walk to A&E
Christchurch Rail Station36 min walk to A&E
Bournemouth Rail Station47 min walk to A&E
Bus stops
24 routes·2 operators·5 stops within walking distance
Royal Bournemouth Hospital (Stop A, north-east)4 min walk to A&E
22Go-AheadStrouden ↔ Bournemouth
33Go-AheadStrouden ↔ West Cliff
81Go-AheadLymington ↔ Bournemouth
82Go-AheadLymington ↔ Bournemouth
X3Go-AheadSalisbury ↔ Bournemouth
X3morebusRingwood ↔ Bournemouth
X6Go-AheadPoole ↔ Bournemouth
Royal Bournemouth Hospital (Stop B, north-east)4 min walk to A&E
20Go-AheadPoole ↔ Purewell
20morebusPoole ↔ Purewell
m1Go-AheadLittledown ↔ Poole
m1morebusPoole ↔ Littledown
N1Go-AheadLittledown ↔ Poole
Royal Bournemouth Hospital (Stop C, north-east)4 min walk to A&E
14Go-AheadLittledown ↔ Poole
14morebusPoole ↔ Littledown
15Go-AheadLittledown ↔ Poole
15morebusPoole ↔ Littledown
20Go-AheadPurewell ↔ Poole
22Go-AheadBournemouth ↔ Strouden
22morebusBournemouth ↔ Strouden
24Go-AheadPurewell ↔ Strouden
33Go-AheadWest Cliff ↔ Strouden
33morebusWest Cliff ↔ Strouden
81Go-AheadBournemouth ↔ Lymington
81morebusBournemouth ↔ Lymington
82Go-AheadBournemouth ↔ Lymington
X3Go-AheadBournemouth ↔ Salisbury
X6Go-AheadBournemouth ↔ Poole
Littledown Centre (NW-bound, north-west)4 min walk to A&E
14Go-AheadLittledown ↔ Poole
15Go-AheadLittledown ↔ Poole
22Go-AheadBournemouth ↔ Strouden
22morebusBournemouth ↔ Strouden
24Go-AheadPurewell ↔ Strouden
33Go-AheadWest Cliff ↔ Strouden
33morebusWest Cliff ↔ Strouden
755Go-AheadSpringbourne ↔ Charminster
755morebusSpringbourne ↔ Charminster
788Go-AheadWalkford ↔ Charminster
788morebusWalkford ↔ Charminster
81Go-AheadLymington ↔ Bournemouth
82Go-AheadLymington ↔ Bournemouth
m1Go-AheadLittledown ↔ Poole
N1Go-AheadLittledown ↔ Poole
X3Go-AheadSalisbury ↔ Bournemouth
X3morebusRingwood ↔ Bournemouth
X6Go-AheadPoole ↔ Bournemouth
Royal Bournemouth Hospital (Stop D, south-west)4 min walk to A&E
Plan journey by public transport
Recent visitor feedbackreported by visitors
Overall
Not recommended by visitors
Staff
Staff can be unhelpful
Triage is typically quick
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 Bournemouth Hospital

Royal Bournemouth Hospital runs a 24-hour accident and emergency department, open to all ages, on Castle Lane East in Bournemouth, Dorset, part of University Hospitals Dorset 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 20 listed departments and services, from Breast Surgery to Vascular surgery.

The site lists 1,687 parking spaces, 71 of them designated disabled bays, with patient parking averaging £1.20 an hour.

Official NHS performance

64.8%seen within 4 hours
16,401attendances in September 2026
60.4%England average for major A&Es

NHS England publishes these figures for University Hospitals Dorset 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 517 patients who responded at this site reported a positive experience. The trust's general and acute wards averaged 94.1% 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
2023-24159,21413,26860.0%1,425
2024-25157,84313,15460.2%2,560
2025-26173,16214,43058.4%3,491
2026-27 (6 months)96,63716,10662.4%2,232

Between 2023-24 and 2025-26, monthly A&E attendances rose 9% and the share seen within four hours fell by 1.6 percentage points.

Frequently asked questions

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

The live waiting time for the A&E at Royal Bournemouth 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 Bournemouth 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 Bournemouth 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 Bournemouth Hospital is doing right now. NHS England's most recent figures (September 2026) show 64.8% 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 Bournemouth Hospital recently, submitting your wait takes a few seconds and helps others plan.

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

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

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

Royal Bournemouth Hospital is at Castle Lane East, Bournemouth, BH7 7DW. For general enquiries call 0202 303626. Enter your postcode in the Getting here section for a door-to-door route.

Is parking free at Royal Bournemouth Hospital?

No - patient and visitor parking here averages about £1.20 an hour (NHS estates return, 2024-25). The site lists 1,687 parking spaces, including 71 designated disabled bays. Concessions often apply for blue badge holders, frequent attenders and some patients - check the hospital's own parking page.

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

No - Royal Bournemouth 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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