A&E Major Trauma Centre

Brighton A&E Live Waiting Times

Royal Sussex County Hospital

University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust

Latest report
9 hr
17 Oct 08:01
Average
7 hr 31 min
8 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
Sittingbourne MIU
51.4 mi away
Long wait
Sheppey MIU
57.0 mi away
Long wait
Princess Alexandra Hospital Same Day Emergency Care A&E
66.4 mi away
Long wait
Princess Alexandra Hospital A&E
66.4 mi away
Long wait
Princess Alexandra Hospital Children's A&E
66.4 mi away
Long wait

There are also other nearby A&Es which collect wait times from the community, including Worthing Hospital, Princess Royal Hospital and Eastbourne District General Hospital.

Contact & location
Eastern Road, Brighton, BN2 5BE
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
Brighton Rail Station25 min walk to A&E
London Road (Brighton) Rail Station30 min walk to A&E
Moulsecoomb Rail Station38 min walk to A&E
Preston Park Rail Station49 min walk to A&E
Hove Rail Station52 min walk to A&E
Bus stops
31 routes·4 operators·5 stops within walking distance
County Hospital (adj, eastbound)1 min walk to A&E
1Go-AheadPortslade Village ↔ Whitehawk
1XGo-AheadMile Oak ↔ Brighton
23Go-AheadWoodingdean ↔ Peacehaven
27CGo-AheadWestdene ↔ Saltdean
27CBrighton & Hove
47Compass TravelPortslade ↔ East Saltdean
52Compass TravelPatcham ↔ Woodingdean
7Go-AheadHove ↔ Brighton
71Go-AheadHangleton ↔ Whitehawk
73Go-AheadHove ↔ Whitehawk
94AGo-AheadBrighton ↔ Whitehawk
94ABrighton & Hove
N1Go-AheadPortslade Village ↔ Woodingdean
N7Go-AheadHove ↔ Brighton
County Hospital (W-bound, westbound)1 min walk to A&E
271Go-AheadCrawley ↔ Kemp Town
271Metrobus
272Go-AheadCrawley ↔ Kemp Town
272Metrobus
37Compass TravelBrighton ↔ Bristol Estate
37BCompass TravelBrighton ↔ Bristol Estate
County Hospital (opp, westbound)1 min walk to A&E
1Go-AheadWhitehawk ↔ Portslade Village
1Brighton & Hove
14BBrighton & Hove
14CBrighton & Hove
1XGo-AheadBrighton ↔ Mile Oak
1XBrighton & Hove
23Go-AheadPeacehaven ↔ Woodingdean
271Go-AheadKemp Town ↔ Crawley
272Go-AheadKemp Town ↔ Crawley
37Compass TravelBristol Estate ↔ Brighton
37BCompass TravelBristol Estate ↔ Brighton
47Compass TravelEast Saltdean ↔ Portslade
52Compass TravelWoodingdean ↔ Patcham
7Go-AheadBrighton ↔ Hove
7Brighton & Hove
71Go-AheadWhitehawk ↔ Mile Oak
71Brighton & Hove
71AGo-AheadWhitehawk ↔ Mile Oak
71ABrighton & Hove
73Go-AheadWhitehawk ↔ Hove
73Brighton & Hove
94AGo-AheadBrighton
N1Go-AheadWoodingdean ↔ Portslade Village
N1Brighton & Hove
N7Go-AheadBrighton ↔ Hove
N7Brighton & Hove
Chesham Street (adj, westbound)2 min walk to A&E
1Go-AheadWhitehawk ↔ Portslade Village
1Brighton & Hove
23Go-AheadPeacehaven ↔ Woodingdean
37Compass TravelBristol Estate ↔ Brighton
37BCompass TravelBristol Estate ↔ Brighton
47Compass TravelEast Saltdean ↔ Portslade
52Compass TravelWoodingdean ↔ Patcham
7Go-AheadBrighton ↔ Hove
7Brighton & Hove
71Go-AheadWhitehawk ↔ Mile Oak
71Brighton & Hove
71AGo-AheadWhitehawk ↔ Mile Oak
71ABrighton & Hove
73Go-AheadWhitehawk ↔ Hove
73Brighton & Hove
94AGo-AheadBrighton
N1Go-AheadWoodingdean ↔ Portslade Village
N1Brighton & Hove
N7Go-AheadBrighton ↔ Hove
N7Brighton & Hove
Top of Walpole Road (nr, eastbound)3 min walk to A&E
37Compass TravelBrighton ↔ Bristol Estate
37BCompass TravelBrighton ↔ Bristol Estate
Plan journey by public transport

About Royal Sussex County Hospital

Royal Sussex County Hospital runs a 24-hour accident and emergency department, open to under 17 years, on Eastern Road in Brighton, East Sussex, part of University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation 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 wider site runs 24 listed departments and services, from Allergy services in hospital to Vascular surgery.

The Care Quality Commission rates it Requires Improvement, last inspected in August 2023. The site lists 1,045 parking spaces, 39 of them designated disabled bays, with patient parking averaging £2.10 an hour.

Official NHS performance

57.2%seen within 4 hours
28,715attendances in September 2026
60.4%England average for major A&Es

NHS England publishes these figures for University Hospitals Sussex 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, 74% of 271 patients who responded at this site reported a positive experience. The trust's general and acute wards averaged 95.9% 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
2023-24279,67023,30658.2%11,806
2024-25275,15422,93057.8%13,526
2025-26321,53626,79561.2%8,849
2026-27 (6 months)170,70928,45258.9%5,626

Between 2023-24 and 2025-26, monthly A&E attendances rose 15% and the share seen within four hours improved by 3.0 percentage points.

Frequently asked questions

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

The live waiting time for the A&E at Royal Sussex County 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 Sussex County 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 Sussex County 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 Sussex County Hospital is doing right now. NHS England's most recent figures (September 2026) show 57.2% 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 Sussex County Hospital recently, submitting your wait takes a few seconds and helps others plan.

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

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

Where is Royal Sussex County Hospital and how do I get there?

Royal Sussex County Hospital is at Eastern Road, Brighton, BN2 5BE. For general enquiries call 01273 696955. Enter your postcode in the Getting here section for a door-to-door route.

Is parking free at Royal Sussex County Hospital?

No - patient and visitor parking here averages about £2.10 an hour (NHS estates return, 2024-25). The site lists 1,045 parking spaces, including 39 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 Sussex County Hospital?

Royal Sussex County 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 August 2023. You can read the full CQC report.

Can children be treated at Royal Sussex County Hospital A&E?

This A&E serves: Under 17 years. 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 Sussex County Hospital a Major Trauma Centre?

Yes - Royal Sussex County 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 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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