A&E Major Trauma Centre

Royal London Hospital A&E Waiting Times

Barts Health NHS Trust

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.
Report a wait time

This hospital doesn’t have live data yet. Help others by sharing your experience.

0 minutes total
Community reported wait times

These times are reported by visitors and may not reflect current conditions.

No reports yet. Be the first to share your experience!

Past NHS Data

This hospital previously had a live data feed. The averages below are based on 100 past readings. Last live update: 29 Jul 15:21.

4 hr 58 min
overall average
8 hr 15 min
longest recorded
Nearby A&E & urgent care
Princess Alexandra Hospital Same Day Emergency Care A&E
18.6 mi away
Long wait
Princess Alexandra Hospital A&E
18.6 mi away
Long wait
Princess Alexandra Hospital Children's A&E
18.6 mi away
Long wait
Sittingbourne MIU
36.5 mi away
Long wait
Sheppey MIU
37.4 mi away
Long wait

There are also other nearby A&Es which collect wait times from the community, including Homerton University Hospital, St Thomas' and University College Hospital.

Contact & location
Whitechapel, London, E1 1BB
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
Whitechapel Station2 min walk to A&E
Bethnal Green Rail Station8 min walk to A&E
Shadwell Rail Station10 min walk to A&E
Shoreditch High Street Station16 min walk to A&E
Limehouse18 min walk to A&E
Metro / tram
Whitechapel Underground Station2 min walk to A&E
Shadwell DLR Station10 min walk to A&E
Stepney Green Underground Station12 min walk to A&E
Aldgate East Underground Station13 min walk to A&E
Bethnal Green Underground Station13 min walk to A&E
Bus stops
9 routes·4 operators·5 stops within walking distance
Cavell Street (Stop W, northbound)2 min walk to A&E
106Go-AheadWhitechapel ↔ Finsbury Park
Whitechapel Station / Royal London Hospital (Stop A, westbound)2 min walk to A&E
205StagecoachBow ↔ Marble Arch
25StagecoachIlford ↔ City of London
254Arriva UK BusHolloway ↔ Aldgate
N205StagecoachLeyton ↔ Paddington
N25StagecoachIlford ↔ Oxford Circus
N253Arriva UK BusTottenham Court Road ↔ Aldgate
XReplacement ServiceKingsland ↔ New Cross Gate
Whitechapel Station / Royal London Hospital (Stop B, eastbound)2 min walk to A&E
205StagecoachMarble Arch ↔ Bow
25StagecoachCity of London ↔ Ilford
254Arriva UK BusAldgate ↔ Holloway
N205StagecoachPaddington ↔ Leyton
N25StagecoachOxford Circus ↔ Ilford
N253Arriva UK BusAldgate ↔ Tottenham Court Road
XReplacement ServiceNew Cross Gate ↔ Kingsland
Cambridge Heath Road (Stop E, eastbound)3 min walk to A&E
254Arriva UK BusAldgate ↔ Holloway
N253Arriva UK BusAldgate ↔ Tottenham Court Road
Royal London Hospital (Stop H, southbound)4 min walk to A&E
D3Go-AheadGlobe Town ↔ Leamouth
Plan journey by public transport
Recent visitor feedbackreported by visitors
Environment
Waiting area could be cleaner
Parking
Parking is easy to find
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 Royal London Hospital

Royal London Hospital runs a 24-hour accident and emergency department, open to all ages, on Whitechapel in London, Greater London, part of Barts Health NHS Trust. It is also a designated Major Trauma Centre - the tier of hospital equipped for life-threatening injuries and complex emergency surgery, which is why ambulances will sometimes drive past closer A&Es to bring the most severely injured patients here.

The Care Quality Commission rates it Requires Improvement, last inspected in January 1900. It rated the hospital's urgent and emergency services Good when they were last inspected in February 2019. The site lists 40 parking spaces, 14 of them designated disabled bays, with patient parking averaging £1.33 an hour.

Official NHS performance

61.0%seen within 4 hours
27,253attendances in September 2026
60.4%England average for major A&Es

NHS England publishes these figures for Barts Health NHS 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, 68% of 415 patients who responded at this site reported a positive experience. The trust's general and acute wards averaged 89.0% 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
2023-24287,18623,93255.7%9,062
2024-25296,02124,66853.5%12,488
2025-26305,76025,48056.0%12,837
2026-27 (6 months)159,13526,52261.4%6,996

Between 2023-24 and 2025-26, monthly A&E attendances rose 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 London Hospital?

The live waiting time for the A&E at Royal London 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 London 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 London 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 London Hospital is doing right now. NHS England's most recent figures (September 2026) show 61.0% 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 London Hospital recently, submitting your wait takes a few seconds and helps others plan.

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

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

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

Royal London Hospital is at Whitechapel, London, E1 1BB. For general enquiries call 020 7377 7000. Enter your postcode in the Getting here section for a door-to-door route.

Is parking free at Royal London Hospital?

No - patient and visitor parking here averages about £1.33 an hour (NHS estates return, 2024-25). The site lists 40 parking spaces, including 14 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 London Hospital?

Royal London 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 January 1900. It rated the hospital's urgent and emergency services Good when they were last inspected in February 2019. You can read the full CQC report.

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

Yes - Royal London Hospital is a designated Major Trauma Centre, equipped for the most serious emergencies including major injuries and complex surgery. The most severely injured patients in the region are taken here, sometimes bypassing closer hospitals.
About this data
This hospital previously had a live data feed but is no longer being updated. Historical averages from past NHS data are shown below. Current waiting times are reported by visitors and may not reflect actual 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.
Directions