A&E Trauma Unit All ages

Torquay A&E Live Waiting Times

Torbay Hospital

Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust

4.4(18 reviews)
Live Updated 16 min ago
2h 6m
estimated wait time
↓ 56 min shorter than usual (3 hr 2 min avg)
5 hr 29 min
longest today
1 hr 43 min
shortest today
3 hr 2 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
19 people
waiting
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
3 hr 45 min

Built from 3,327 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 10am - busiest around midnight
Typical waits by day of week
Saturday tends to be quietest, Friday busiest
Nearby A&E & urgent care
Newton Abbot Community Hospital MIU
4.7 mi away
Moderate wait
Totnes Hospital MIU
6.7 mi away
Moderate wait
Exmouth MIU
11.7 mi away
Moderate wait
Royal Devon And Exeter Hospital (Wonford) A&E
16.3 mi away
Long wait
Kingsbridge MIU
16.6 mi away
Short wait

There are also other nearby A&Es which collect wait times from the community, including Dorset County Hospital, Weston General Hospital and Newquay.

Contact & location
Lowes Bridge, Torquay, Devon, TQ2 7AA
Torbay Hospital A&E in Torquay
Opening times
Monday TodayOpen 24 hours
TuesdayOpen 24 hours
WednesdayOpen 24 hours
ThursdayOpen 24 hours
FridayOpen 24 hours
SaturdayOpen 24 hours
SundayOpen 24 hours
CQC Rating
requires improvement
Getting here
Train stations
Torre Rail Station15 min walk to A&E
Torquay Rail Station31 min walk to A&E
Bus stops
8 routes·3 operators·5 stops within walking distance
Torbay Hospital Main Entrance (Car Park, south-west)1 min walk to A&E
13StagecoachBrixham ↔ Kingsteignton
149Country BusTotnes ↔ The Willows
174Country BusShiphay ↔ Teignmouth
35AStagecoachTorquay
35CStagecoachTorquay
SB5Torbay BusesThe Willows ↔ Shiphay
SB6Torbay BusesThe Willows
Lowes Bridge (NW-bound, north-west)3 min walk to A&E
12StagecoachBrixham ↔ Newton Abbot
13StagecoachBrixham ↔ Kingsteignton
Newton Road (SE-bound, south-east)3 min walk to A&E
12StagecoachNewton Abbot ↔ Brixham
13StagecoachBrixham ↔ Kingsteignton
Lowes Bridge (opp, northbound)4 min walk to A&E
12StagecoachBrixham ↔ Newton Abbot
13StagecoachBrixham ↔ Kingsteignton
Cadewell Lane (opp, north-west)4 min walk to A&E
12StagecoachBrixham ↔ Newton Abbot
13StagecoachBrixham ↔ Kingsteignton
Plan journey by public transport
Torquay A&E wait times - last 24 hours
Hour Avg. wait People waiting
Today, 7 PM
avg. of 3 readings
 2 hr 39 min 19
Today, 6 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 5 hr 5 min 21
Today, 5 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 4 hr 30 min 29
Today, 4 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 4 hr 46 min 35
Today, 3 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 5 hr 5 min 41
Today, 2 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 4 hr 40 min 44
Today, 1 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 3 hr 40 min 35
Today, 12 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 2 hr 43 min 28
Today, 11 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 2 hr 6 min 24
Today, 10 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 2 hr 9 min 21
Today, 9 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 3 hr 6 min 13
Today, 8 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 3 hr 14 min 9
Today, 7 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 3 hr 32 min 8
Today, 6 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 4 hr 33 min 10
Today, 5 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 4 hr 13 min 12
Today, 4 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 3 hr 51 min 15
Today, 3 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 4 hr 42 min 14
Today, 2 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 4 hr 15 min 15
Today, 1 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 4 hr 6 min 18
Today, 12 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 4 hr 52 min 15
Yesterday, 11 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 5 hr 25 min 17
Yesterday, 10 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 5 hr 5 min 19
Yesterday, 9 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 5 hr 24 min 19
Yesterday, 8 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 6 hr 58 min 22
Departments & services
  • Accident and emergency (A&E)
  • Alcohol screening services
  • Anaesthesia services
  • Audiology services (community)
  • Braces and other orthodontic treatment
  • Breast cancer services
  • Breast Surgery
  • Cancer Services
  • Cardiology
  • Care services for end of life care
  • Cataract Surgery
  • CFS / ME Management services
  • Child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS)
  • Child health and development
  • Children's & Adolescent Services
  • Chiropody - provided in house and available on NHS
  • Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
  • Colorectal cancer services
  • Community equipment services
  • Continuing care services
  • Critical care
  • Dementia Services
  • Dentistry and Orthodontics
  • Dermatology
  • Diabetic Medicine
  • Diagnostic Endoscopy
  • Diagnostic Imaging
  • Diagnostic Physiological Measurement
  • Dietetics
  • Disability services
  • Ear, Nose & Throat
  • Emergency Abdominal Surgery
  • End of life care services
  • Endocrine and thyroid surgery
  • Endocrinology and Metabolic Medicine
  • Family planning services
  • Fertility services
  • Gastrointestinal and Liver services
  • Geriatric Medicine
  • Gynaecology
  • Haematology
  • Health Promotion
  • Health trainer services
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Inpatient Diabetes
  • Intensive Care
  • Learning Disabilities
  • Major trauma
  • Maternity services
  • Mental Health - Adults of all ages
  • Mobility and falls services
  • Musculo-skeletal services
  • Neonatal Care
  • Neurology
  • Obstetrics And Gynaecology
  • Occupational health services
  • Occupational therapy services
  • Older people's services
  • Oncology - Clinical
  • Ophthalmology
  • Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
  • Orthopaedics
  • Paediatric Surgery
  • Paediatrics services
  • Pain Management
  • Palliative care
  • Pharmacy
  • Physiotherapy
  • Plastic surgery
  • Podiatry services (community)
  • Prostate Cancer Service
  • Respiratory Medicine
  • Rheumatology
  • Sexual health services
  • Sleep Medicine
  • Speech and language services
  • Stop smoking service (NHS)
  • Stroke
  • Support for young carers
  • Tissue viability services
  • Vascular surgery
What’s available here
Accessibility
Disabled ParkingDisabled WcInduction LoopSigning Service AvailableStep Free AccessWheelchair Access
Accommodation
Access To TvInternet AccessPublic Telephone
Parking
Car ParkingDisabled Parking
Food and Amenities
CafeShop
Recent visitor feedbackreported by visitors
Overall
Not recommended by visitors
Staff
Staff can be unhelpful
Not always kept informed about wait times
Triage can be slow
Environment
Waiting area could be cleaner
Toilets could be cleaner
Waiting area feels safe
Family
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 phone charging points
Free WiFi is available
Mobile signal is good
Parking
3 of 3 say parking was busy
Payment accepted: card
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 Torbay Hospital

Torbay Hospital runs a 24-hour accident and emergency department, open to all ages, on Lowes Bridge in Torquay, Devon, part of Torbay and South Devon 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 81 listed departments and services, from Alcohol screening services to Vascular surgery.

The Care Quality Commission rates it Requires Improvement. It rated the hospital's urgent and emergency services Requires Improvement when they were last inspected in November 2023. Over the past 28 days, waits here have typically been shortest around 10am and longest around midnight, a gap of about 2 hours 40 minutes. The site lists 1,573 parking spaces, 96 of them designated disabled bays, with patient parking averaging £1.50 an hour.

Official NHS performance

59.6%seen within 4 hours
7,380attendances in September 2026
60.4%England average for major A&Es

NHS England publishes these figures for Torbay and South Devon 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.

The trust's general and acute wards averaged 95.7% 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
2023-2474,8816,24048.7%1,409
2024-2575,5706,29852.7%931
2025-2679,8326,65355.1%683
2026-27 (6 months)43,0837,18049.8%871

Between 2023-24 and 2025-26, monthly A&E attendances rose 7% and the share seen within four hours improved by 6.4 percentage points.

Frequently asked questions

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

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

When is the A&E at Torbay Hospital quietest?

Based on the last 28 days of readings at Torbay Hospital, waits are usually lowest around 10am and highest around midnight. 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 Torbay 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 Torbay Hospital is doing right now. NHS England's most recent figures (September 2026) show 59.6% of patients across the trust's A&E departments were seen within four hours.

How often are the waiting times on this page updated?

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 Torbay Hospital open 24 hours?

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

Where is Torbay Hospital and how do I get there?

Torbay Hospital is at Lowes Bridge, Torquay, Devon, TQ2 7AA. For general enquiries call 01803 614567. Enter your postcode in the Getting here section for a door-to-door route.

Is parking free at Torbay Hospital?

No - patient and visitor parking here averages about £1.50 an hour (NHS estates return, 2024-25). The site lists 1,573 parking spaces, including 96 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 Torbay Hospital?

Torbay 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 Requires Improvement when they were last inspected in November 2023. You can read the full CQC report.

Can children be treated at Torbay 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 Torbay Hospital a Major Trauma Centre?

No - Torbay Hospital is a designated Trauma Unit. It treats significant injuries and stabilises the most complex cases before transfer to a regional Major Trauma Centre.
Where this data comes from
Wait times shown here are sourced from publicly available information published by Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust. Our system automatically checks the trust’s published waiting-times page every 15 minutes and records the displayed waiting time. Data was last checked at 7:33pm on 26 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 Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust
Independently captured screenshot of Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust’s public wait time page
Captured at 7:33 pm on Monday 26 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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