A&E Trauma Unit

Stockport A&E Live Waiting Times

Stepping Hill Hospital

Stockport NHS Foundation Trust

Latest report
12 hr
19 Oct 15:29
Average
8 hr 22 min
18 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
Warrington Hospital A&E
19.7 mi away
Long wait
Leek MIU
20.1 mi away
Short wait
Haywood Hospital Walk-in Centre
22.8 mi away
Long wait
Leighton Hospital A&E
23.3 mi away
Long wait
Runcorn Urgent Treatment Centre
23.6 mi away
Long wait

There are also other nearby A&Es which collect wait times from the community, including Wythenshawe Forum, Wythenshawe Hospital and Manchester Royal Infirmary.

Contact & location
Stepping Hill Hospital, Poplar Grove, Stockport, Cheshire, SK2 7JE
Switchboard: 0161 483 1010
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
Woodsmoor Rail Station9 min walk to A&E
Hazel Grove Rail Station13 min walk to A&E
Davenport Rail Station20 min walk to A&E
Stockport Rail Station39 min walk to A&E
Bramhall Rail Station42 min walk to A&E
Bus stops
1 route·1 operator·5 stops within walking distance
Stepping Hill Hospital Grounds (Stop F, south-east)2 min walk to A&E
Stepping Hill Hospital (Stop E, eastbound)2 min walk to A&E
394Centrebus GroupGlossop ↔ Stepping Hill
Stepping Hill Hospital Grounds (Stop G, north-west)2 min walk to A&E
394Centrebus GroupGlossop ↔ Stepping Hill
Stepping Hill Hospital (o/s, north-east)3 min walk to A&E
Stepping Hill Hospital (opp, south-west)4 min walk to A&E
394Centrebus GroupGlossop ↔ Stepping Hill
Plan journey by public transport
What’s available here
Accessibility
Braille Translation ServiceDisabled ParkingDisabled WcInduction LoopStep Free AccessText RelayWheelchair Access
Accommodation
Access To TvInternet AccessMobile Phones PermittedPublic TelephoneSingle Sex Accommodation Only
Parking
Car ParkingCycle ParkingDisabled Parking
Bringing Children
Baby Changing FacilityChildren's Play AreaParent And Baby RoomParent And Child Parking
Faith Services
On-Site ChapelPrayer Area
Food and Amenities
CafePatient LibraryPharmacyShop
Recent visitor feedbackreported by visitors
Overall
3 of 6 would recommend this department
Staff
6 of 7 say staff were friendly and helpful
4 of 5 were not kept informed about their wait
3 of 6 say they were triaged quickly
Environment
6 of 6 say the waiting area was clean
5 of 5 say the toilets were clean
5 of 6 felt safe in the waiting area
Family
3 of 4 say there is no children’s play area
5 of 5 say there is a separate children’s waiting area
Facilities
3 of 6 say there is not enough seating
5 of 6 say there is no TV
3 of 5 say food and drink is available nearby
5 of 6 say there are no phone charging points
4 of 5 say free WiFi is available
5 of 6 say mobile signal is good
Parking
3 of 6 say parking was busy
Payment accepted: card, app
Based on 7 visitor responses in the last 6 months. This information is collected through a short anonymous survey shown to visitors on this page.

About Stepping Hill Hospital

Stepping Hill Hospital runs a 24-hour accident and emergency department, open to all ages, at Stepping Hill Hospital, Poplar Grove in Stockport, Greater Manchester, part of Stockport 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 43 listed departments and services, from Audiology services (community) to Urology.

The Care Quality Commission rates it Requires Improvement, last inspected in October 2023. It rated the hospital's urgent and emergency services Good when they were last inspected in January 2022. The site lists 1,584 parking spaces, 61 of them designated disabled bays, with patient parking averaging £1.83 an hour. In our visitor surveys, 86% found staff friendly and helpful and 100% said the waiting area was clean. Visitors also report that children get a separate waiting area.

Official NHS performance

62.8%seen within 4 hours
8,508attendances in September 2026
60.4%England average for major A&Es

NHS England publishes these figures for Stockport NHS Foundation 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, 80% of 715 patients who responded at this site reported a positive experience. The trust's general and acute wards averaged 92.8% 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
2023-24105,6258,80261.4%3,054
2024-2593,4567,78858.6%3,653
2025-2695,4487,95460.1%4,001
2026-27 (6 months)49,7478,29160.9%1,322

Between 2023-24 and 2025-26, monthly A&E attendances fell 10% and the share seen within four hours fell by 1.3 percentage points.

Frequently asked questions

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

The live waiting time for the A&E at Stepping Hill 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 Stepping Hill 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 Stepping Hill 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 Stepping Hill Hospital is doing right now. NHS England's most recent figures (September 2026) show 62.8% 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 Stepping Hill Hospital recently, submitting your wait takes a few seconds and helps others plan.

Is the A&E at Stepping Hill Hospital open 24 hours?

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

Where is Stepping Hill Hospital and how do I get there?

Stepping Hill Hospital is at Stepping Hill Hospital, Poplar Grove, Stockport, Cheshire, SK2 7JE. For general enquiries call 0161 483 1010. Enter your postcode in the Getting here section for a door-to-door route.

Is parking free at Stepping Hill Hospital?

No - patient and visitor parking here averages about £1.83 an hour (NHS estates return, 2024-25). The site lists 1,584 parking spaces, including 61 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 Stepping Hill Hospital?

Stepping Hill 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 October 2023. It rated the hospital's urgent and emergency services Good when they were last inspected in January 2022. You can read the full CQC report.

Can children be treated at Stepping Hill 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 Stepping Hill Hospital a Major Trauma Centre?

No - Stepping Hill 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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