A&E Major Trauma Centre

Southmead Hospital (Bristol) A&E Waiting Times

North Bristol NHS Trust

Latest report
9 hr
21 Oct 18:30
Average
7 hr 4 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
Shepton Mallet Urgent Treatment Centre
21.0 mi away
Short wait
Frome Urgent Treatment Centre
21.6 mi away
Long wait
West Mendip (Glastonbury) Urgent Treatment Centre
23.7 mi away
Short wait
Burnham On Sea MIU
24.9 mi away
Moderate wait
Bridgwater Urgent Treatment Centre
29.6 mi away
Long wait

There are also other nearby A&Es which collect wait times from the community, including Bristol Royal Infirmary, Bristol Royal Hospital For and Royal United Hospitals, Bath.

Contact & location
Southmead Road, Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, Avon, BS10 5NB
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
Filton Abbey Wood Rail Station27 min walk to A&E
Ashley Down Rail Station29 min walk to A&E
Montpelier Rail Station39 min walk to A&E
Redland Rail Station40 min walk to A&E
Stapleton Road Rail Station45 min walk to A&E
Bus stops
15 routes·4 operators·5 stops within walking distance
Southmead Hospital (G, north-west)1 min walk to A&E
10StagecoachBristol Parkway ↔ Severn Beach
11StagecoachAvonmouth ↔ Bristol Parkway
17First BusBurnett ↔ Southmead
17First Bristol Limited
18First BusBroadmead ↔ Southmead
18First Bristol Limited
Southmead Hospital (F, north-west)1 min walk to A&E
24First BusSouthmead ↔ Ashton Vale
24First Bristol Limited
X10The Big Lemon CICSouthmead ↔ Yatton
Y6First BusBroadmead ↔ Chipping Sodbury
Y6First Bristol Limited
Southmead Hospital (H, westbound)1 min walk to A&E
505StagecoachLong Ashton ↔ Southmead
76First BusCribbs Causeway ↔ Hengrove
Y6First BusChipping Sodbury ↔ Broadmead
Southmead Hospital (E, north-west)1 min walk to A&E
13StagecoachShirehampton ↔ Broadmead
76First BusHengrove ↔ Cribbs Causeway
76First Bristol Limited
Dorian Way (NW-bound, north-west)4 min walk to A&E
17First BusBurnett ↔ Southmead
17First Bristol Limited
18First BusBroadmead ↔ Southmead
18First Bristol Limited
24First BusAshton Vale ↔ Southmead
505StagecoachLong Ashton ↔ Southmead
Plan journey by public transport
What’s available here
Accessibility
Braille Translation ServiceDisabled ParkingDisabled WcInduction LoopSigning Service AvailableStep Free AccessText RelayWheelchair Access
Accommodation
Internet AccessMobile Phones PermittedPublic TelephoneSingle Sex Accommodation Only
Parking
Car ParkingCycle ParkingDisabled Parking
Counselling and Support
Bereavement SupportTranslation Services
Food and Amenities
CafePharmacyShop
Recent visitor feedbackreported 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 can feel unsafe
Family
No children’s play area
No separate children’s waiting area
Facilities
Enough seating in the waiting area
No TV in the waiting area
Food and drink available nearby
No free WiFi
Mobile signal is poor
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 Southmead Hospital

Southmead Hospital runs a 24-hour accident and emergency department, open to 16 years or over, on Southmead Road in Bristol, part of North Bristol 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 wider site runs 75 listed departments and services, from Allergy services in hospital to Wheelchair services.

The Care Quality Commission rates it Good. It rated the hospital's urgent and emergency services Good when they were last inspected in September 2019. The site lists 2,046 parking spaces, 129 of them designated disabled bays, with patient parking averaging £2.00 an hour.

Official NHS performance

57.3%seen within 4 hours
9,801attendances in June 2026
61.0%England average for major A&Es

NHS England publishes these figures for North Bristol NHS Trust as a whole, covering every A&E the trust runs rather than this site alone. That is below the England average of 61.0% for major A&E departments over the same month.

In the NHS Friends and Family Test for June 2026, 72% of 616 patients who responded at this site reported a positive experience. The trust's general and acute wards averaged 96.6% 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
2023-24104,9478,74667.9%1,554
2024-25106,5538,87960.9%4,182
2025-26110,6069,21763.7%4,238
2026-27 (3 months)28,9929,66462.2%1,038

Between 2023-24 and 2025-26, monthly A&E attendances rose 5% and the share seen within four hours fell by 4.2 percentage points.

Frequently asked questions

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

The live waiting time for the A&E at Southmead 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 Southmead 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 Southmead 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 Southmead Hospital is doing right now. NHS England's most recent figures (June 2026) show 57.3% 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 Southmead Hospital recently, submitting your wait takes a few seconds and helps others plan.

Is the A&E at Southmead Hospital open 24 hours?

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

Where is Southmead Hospital and how do I get there?

Southmead Hospital is at Southmead Road, Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, Avon, BS10 5NB. For general enquiries call 0117 950 5050. Enter your postcode in the Getting here section for a door-to-door route.

Is parking free at Southmead Hospital?

No - patient and visitor parking here averages about £2.00 an hour (NHS estates return, 2024-25). The site lists 2,046 parking spaces, including 129 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 Southmead Hospital?

Southmead 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 September 2019. You can read the full CQC report.

Can children be treated at Southmead Hospital A&E?

This A&E serves: 16 years or over. 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 Southmead Hospital a Major Trauma Centre?

Yes - Southmead 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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