A&E Trauma Unit

Chichester A&E Live Waiting Times

St Richard's Hospital

University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust

Latest report
8 hr 45 min
11 Sep 00:00
Average
8 hr 45 min
7 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
Frome Urgent Treatment Centre
72.3 mi away
Long wait
Sittingbourne MIU
73.6 mi away
Long wait
Princess Alexandra Hospital Same Day Emergency Care A&E
74.0 mi away
Long wait
Princess Alexandra Hospital Children's A&E
74.0 mi away
Long wait
Princess Alexandra Hospital A&E
74.0 mi away
Long wait

There are also other nearby A&Es which collect wait times from the community, including Queen Alexandra Hospital, Worthing Hospital and St Mary's Hospital.

Contact & location
Spitalfield Lane, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 6SE
Switchboard: 01243 788122
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
Chichester Rail Station20 min walk to A&E
Fishbourne Rail Station40 min walk to A&E
Bus stops
8 routes·3 operators·5 stops within walking distance
St Richard's Outpatients (o/s, south-east)2 min walk to A&E
55StagecoachChichester ↔ Tangmere
99Compass TravelChichester ↔ Petworth
CH1Harting Minibus CICNyewood ↔ Chichester
St Richard's Outpatients (opp, north-west)2 min walk to A&E
55StagecoachOving ↔ Chichester
99Compass TravelPetworth ↔ Chichester
Shamrock Close (adj, eastbound)3 min walk to A&E
55StagecoachChichester ↔ Tangmere
Lennox Road (adj, westbound)3 min walk to A&E
55StagecoachOving ↔ Chichester
Melbourne Road (opp, eastbound)4 min walk to A&E
500StagecoachChichester ↔ Littlehampton
707StagecoachChichester ↔ Bognor Regis
71Compass TravelChichester ↔ Storrington
85Compass TravelChichester ↔ Arundel
85ACompass TravelChichester ↔ Arundel
99Compass TravelChichester ↔ Petworth
Plan journey by public transport
What’s available here
Accessibility
Disabled ParkingWheelchair Access
Accommodation
Access To TvPublic TelephoneSingle Sex Accommodation Only
Counselling and support
Translation Services
Food and amenities
CafeShop
Parking
Car ParkingDisabled Parking
Recent visitor feedbackreported by visitors
Overall
Not recommended by visitors
Staff
3 of 3 say staff were friendly and helpful
Staff keep you informed about wait times
Triage is typically quick
Environment
2 of 3 say the waiting area was not clean
2 of 3 say the toilets were not clean
Waiting area feels safe
Family
2 of 3 say there is no children’s play area
Separate children’s waiting area
Facilities
Enough seating in the waiting area
TV in the waiting area
Food and drink available nearby
No phone charging points
Free WiFi is available
Mobile signal is poor
Parking
1 of 3 had to park elsewhere
Based on 3 visitor responses in the last 6 months. This information is collected through a short anonymous survey shown to visitors on this page.

About St Richard's Hospital

St Richard's Hospital runs a 24-hour accident and emergency department, open to all ages, on Spitalfield Lane in Chichester, West Sussex, part of University Hospitals Sussex 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 48 listed departments and services, from Acute Internal Medicine to Vascular surgery.

The Care Quality Commission rates it Requires Improvement. It rated the hospital's urgent and emergency services Outstanding when they were last inspected in April 2016. The site lists 1,269 parking spaces, 68 of them designated disabled bays, with patient parking averaging £3.50 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, 66% of 192 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 St Richard's Hospital?

The live waiting time for the A&E at St Richard's 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 St Richard's 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 St Richard's 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 St Richard's 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 St Richard's Hospital recently, submitting your wait takes a few seconds and helps others plan.

Is the A&E at St Richard's Hospital open 24 hours?

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

Where is St Richard's Hospital and how do I get there?

St Richard's Hospital is at Spitalfield Lane, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 6SE. For general enquiries call 01243 788122. Enter your postcode in the Getting here section for a door-to-door route.

Is parking free at St Richard's Hospital?

No - patient and visitor parking here averages about £3.50 an hour (NHS estates return, 2024-25). The site lists 1,269 parking spaces, including 68 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 St Richard's Hospital?

St Richard's Hospital is rated Requires Improvement 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 Outstanding when they were last inspected in April 2016. You can read the full CQC report.

Can children be treated at St Richard's 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 St Richard's Hospital a Major Trauma Centre?

No - St Richard's 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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