A&E Major Trauma Centre Adults

Royal Victoria Hospital Belfast A&E Waiting Times

Belfast Health and Social Care Trust

Live Updated 4 min ago
4h 29m
estimated wait time
↑ 32 min longer than usual (3 hr 57 min avg)
5 hr 58 min
longest today
3 hr 30 min
shortest today
3 hr 57 min
usual wait
Typical wait for non-urgent cases. Patients are seen in order of clinical priority. The most seriously ill are always seen first, no matter how busy the department is.
This data might be old - tap to refresh
Call A&E
The wait time shown above does not apply to urgent or life-threatening cases, which are seen first regardless of the queue. Not sure if you need A&E? Visit NHS 111 online or call 111 (free, 24 hours a day). Life-threatening emergency or serious injury? Call 999.
Recent waits & what to expect
Forecast Steady for now
Expected wait over the next few hours
4 hr 15 min

Built from 2,590 readings taken here over the last 28 days, then adjusted to how today is going so far. A guide, not a guarantee.

Typical waits by time of day
Usually quietest around 6pm - busiest around 10am
Typical waits by day of week
Monday tends to be quietest, Saturday busiest
Nearby A&E & urgent care
Royal Hospital Children's A&E
0.0 mi away
Short wait
Mater Hospital A&E
1.1 mi away
Long wait
Ulster Hospital A&E
5.7 mi away
Long wait
Lagan Valley Hospital MIU
7.1 mi away
Moderate wait
Antrim Area Hospital A&E
13.3 mi away
Long wait

There are also other nearby A&Es which collect wait times from the community, including Galloway Community Hospital, Campbeltown Hospital and Girvan Community Hospital.

Contact & location
274 Grosvenor Road, Belfast, BT12 6BA
Switchboard: 028 9024 0503
Opening times
MondayOpen 24 hours
TuesdayOpen 24 hours
WednesdayOpen 24 hours
ThursdayOpen 24 hours
FridayOpen 24 hours
SaturdayOpen 24 hours
Sunday TodayOpen 24 hours
Getting here
Belfast A&E wait times - last 24 hours
Hour Avg. wait
Today, 12 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 4 hr 33 min
Today, 11 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 5 hr 58 min
Today, 10 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 4 hr 26 min
Today, 9 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 4 hr 31 min
Today, 8 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 3 hr 53 min
Today, 7 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 4 hr 17 min
Today, 6 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 3 hr 45 min
Today, 5 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 3 hr 35 min
Today, 4 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 3 hr 30 min
Today, 3 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 3 hr 50 min
Today, 2 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 3 hr 50 min
Today, 1 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 3 hr 33 min
Today, 12 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 3 hr 46 min
Yesterday, 11 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 4 hr 26 min
Yesterday, 10 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 5 hr 11 min
Yesterday, 9 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 3 hr 55 min
Yesterday, 8 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 3 hr 43 min
Yesterday, 7 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 4 hr 24 min
Yesterday, 6 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 4 hr 47 min
Yesterday, 5 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 5 hr 32 min
Yesterday, 4 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 6 hr 4 min
Yesterday, 3 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 6 hr 25 min
Yesterday, 2 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 5 hr 58 min
Yesterday, 1 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 6 hr 43 min

About Royal Victoria Hospital Belfast

Royal Victoria Hospital Belfast runs a 24-hour accident and emergency department, open to adults, on 274 Grosvenor Road in Belfast, Northern Ireland, part of Belfast Health and Social Care 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. Type 1 A&E, open 24 hours. Regional major trauma centre for Northern Ireland.

Over the past 28 days, waits here have typically been shortest around 6pm and longest around 10am, a gap of about an hour and 50 minutes.

Frequently asked questions

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

The live waiting time for the A&E at Royal Victoria Hospital Belfast is shown at the top of this page, together with when it was last updated.

When is the A&E at Royal Victoria Hospital Belfast quietest?

Based on the last 28 days of readings at Royal Victoria Hospital Belfast, waits are usually lowest around 6pm and highest around 10am. The typical-day chart on this page shows the full hour-by-hour pattern, and our guide to the best time to visit covers UK-wide patterns.

How long will I wait at Royal Victoria Hospital Belfast 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. In Northern Ireland the standard is for 95% of patients to be seen and then admitted or discharged within four hours, though busy departments often exceed this. The live figure on this page shows how Royal Victoria Hospital Belfast is doing right now.

How often are the waiting times on this page updated?

Figures refresh every 15 minutes, and the last-updated time near the top of the page shows exactly when the newest reading was taken. Waiting times can change quickly, so treat any figure as a guide rather than a guarantee.

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

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

Where is Royal Victoria Hospital Belfast and how do I get there?

Royal Victoria Hospital Belfast is at 274 Grosvenor Road, Belfast, BT12 6BA. For general enquiries call 028 9024 0503. Enter your postcode in the Getting here section for a door-to-door route.

Can children be treated at Royal Victoria Hospital Belfast A&E?

This A&E serves: Adults. 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 Victoria Hospital Belfast a Major Trauma Centre?

Yes - Royal Victoria Hospital Belfast 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.
Where this data comes from
Wait times shown here are sourced from publicly available information published by Belfast Health and Social Care Trust through NI Direct, Northern Ireland's official government service. Our system automatically checks that service every 15 minutes and records the displayed waiting time. Data was last checked at 12:46pm on 25 Oct 2026. A full list of every source we use, and when each was last checked, is on our data sources page.
Verified sourceDirect capture from Belfast Health and Social Care Trust
Independently captured screenshot of Belfast Health and Social Care Trust’s public wait time page
Captured at 12:46 pm on Sunday 25 October 2026

This site is independent and has no affiliation with, or endorsement by, any NHS trust or hospital. 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. Wait times change frequently and may not reflect the current situation, so always contact the hospital directly for the most up-to-date information. If any information is incorrect, please let us know.

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