A&E Trauma Unit

The Great Western Hospital (Swindon) A&E Waiting Times

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Latest report
10 hr
13 Oct 23:08
Average
6 hr 46 min
10 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
32.7 mi away
Long wait
Evesham MIU
39.0 mi away
Long wait
Shepton Mallet Urgent Treatment Centre
42.8 mi away
Short wait
Malvern MIU
47.8 mi away
Long wait
Worcester Royal Hospital Ed A&E
49.1 mi away
Long wait

There are also other nearby A&Es which collect wait times from the community, including Great Western, John Radcliffe Hospital and Royal United Hospitals, Bath.

Contact & location
Marlborough Road, Swindon, SN3 6BB
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
Bus stops
17 routes·4 operators·5 stops within walking distance
Great Western Hospital (Stop C, south-west)1 min walk to A&E
12Go-AheadCommon Head ↔ Taw Hill
Great Western Hospital (Stop B, south-west)1 min walk to A&E
1Go-AheadGrange Park ↔ Badbury Wick
1Swindon's Bus CompanyRamleaze ↔ Common Head
13AGo-AheadCommon Head ↔ Swindon
14AGo-AheadCommon Head ↔ Swindon
158Go-AheadNorth Wroughton ↔ Eldene
1AGo-AheadRamleaze ↔ Badbury Wick
1BGo-AheadHaydon Wick ↔ Badbury Wick
80Go-AheadLudgershall ↔ Swindon
80StagecoachMarlborough ↔ Swindon
Great Western Hospital (Stop D, south-west)1 min walk to A&E
46AGo-AheadHungerford ↔ Swindon
47West Berkshire Council (UILTA)Swindon ↔ Lambourn
48Go-AheadSwindon ↔ Marlborough
48AGo-AheadMarlborough ↔ Swindon
80Go-AheadSwindon ↔ Ludgershall
80Swindon's Bus CompanySwindon ↔ Marlborough
81StagecoachSwindon ↔ Thorney Park
X5Go-AheadSwindon ↔ Salisbury
Great Western Hospital (Stop A, southbound)1 min walk to A&E
1Go-AheadBadbury Wick ↔ Ramleaze
13AGo-AheadCommon Head ↔ Swindon
14AGo-AheadCommon Head ↔ Swindon
1AGo-AheadBadbury Wick ↔ Grange Park
1BGo-AheadBadbury Wick ↔ Haydon Wick
Brunel Treatment Centre (N-bound, northbound)2 min walk to A&E
Plan journey by public transport
What’s available here
Accessibility
Braille Translation ServiceDisabled ParkingDisabled WcInduction LoopSigning Service AvailableStep Free AccessText RelayWheelchair Access
Accommodation
Access To TvMobile Phones PermittedPublic TelephoneSingle Sex Accommodation Only
Parking
Car ParkingCycle ParkingDisabled Parking
Faith Services
On-Site ChapelPrayer Area
Food and Amenities
CafePatient LibraryPharmacyShop
Recent visitor feedbackreported by visitors
Overall
Not recommended by visitors
Staff
Staff can be unhelpful
Staff keep you informed about wait times
Triage can be slow
Environment
Waiting area could be cleaner
Toilets could be cleaner
Waiting area feels safe
Family
No children’s play area
Separate children’s waiting area
Facilities
Seating can be limited
No TV in the waiting area
Food and drink available nearby
No phone charging points
Mobile signal is good
Parking
Parking is easy to find
Payment accepted: card
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 The Great Western Hospital

The Great Western Hospital runs a 24-hour accident and emergency department, open to all ages, on Marlborough Road in Swindon, Wiltshire, part of Great Western Hospitals 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 24 listed departments and services, from Dermatology to Vascular surgery.

The Care Quality Commission rates it Requires Improvement, last inspected in February 2014. The site lists 2,411 parking spaces, 113 of them designated disabled bays, with patient parking averaging £1.75 an hour.

Official NHS performance

53.6%seen within 4 hours
7,991attendances in September 2026
60.4%England average for major A&Es

NHS England publishes these figures for Great Western Hospitals 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, 70% of 497 patients who responded at this site reported a positive experience. The trust's general and acute wards averaged 96.5% 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
2023-2463,1895,26652.9%1,207
2024-2565,3305,44455.1%2,314
2025-2671,1635,93048.8%3,636
2026-27 (6 months)45,7297,62253.3%2,249

Between 2023-24 and 2025-26, monthly A&E attendances rose 13% and the share seen within four hours fell by 4.1 percentage points.

Frequently asked questions

How do I check the current A&E wait time at The Great Western Hospital?

The live waiting time for the A&E at The Great Western 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 The Great Western 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 The Great Western 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 The Great Western Hospital is doing right now. NHS England's most recent figures (September 2026) show 53.6% 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 The Great Western Hospital recently, submitting your wait takes a few seconds and helps others plan.

Is the A&E at The Great Western Hospital open 24 hours?

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

Where is The Great Western Hospital and how do I get there?

The Great Western Hospital is at Marlborough Road, Swindon, SN3 6BB. For general enquiries call 01793 604020. Enter your postcode in the Getting here section for a door-to-door route.

Is parking free at The Great Western Hospital?

No - patient and visitor parking here averages about £1.75 an hour (NHS estates return, 2024-25). The site lists 2,411 parking spaces, including 113 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 The Great Western Hospital?

The Great Western 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 February 2014. You can read the full CQC report.

Can children be treated at The Great Western 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 The Great Western Hospital a Major Trauma Centre?

No - The Great Western 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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