A&E Adults and children

Dundonald A&E Live Waiting Times

Ulster Hospital

South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust

3.8(355 reviews)
Live Updated just now
3h 19m
estimated wait time
↑ 4 min longer than usual (3 hr 15 min avg)
4 hr 31 min
longest today
2 hr 31 min
shortest today
3 hr 15 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
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 25 min

Built from 2,597 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 1pm - busiest around 6am
Typical waits by day of week
Friday tends to be quietest, Tuesday busiest
Nearby A&E & urgent care
Mater Hospital A&E
5.2 mi away
Long wait
Royal Victoria Hospital Belfast A&E
5.7 mi away
Long wait
Royal Hospital Children's A&E
5.7 mi away
Long wait
Lagan Valley Hospital MIU
11.2 mi away
Long wait
Antrim Area Hospital A&E
17.7 mi away
Long wait

There are also other nearby A&Es which collect wait times from the community, including Galloway Community Hospital, Campbeltown Hospital and Girvan Community Hospital.

Contact & location
Upper Newtownards Road, Dundonald, BT16 1RH
Switchboard: (028) 9048 4511
Ulster Hospital A&E in Dundonald
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
Dundonald A&E wait times - last 24 hours
Hour Avg. wait
Today, 7 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 3 hr 18 min
Today, 6 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 3 hr 9 min
Today, 5 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 2 hr 58 min
Today, 4 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 2 hr 50 min
Today, 3 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 2 hr 36 min
Today, 2 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 2 hr 35 min
Today, 1 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 2 hr 39 min
Today, 12 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 3 hr 9 min
Today, 11 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 3 hr 38 min
Today, 10 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 4 hr 11 min
Today, 9 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 4 hr 10 min
Today, 8 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 4 hr 24 min
Today, 7 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 4 hr 31 min
Today, 6 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 4 hr 30 min
Today, 5 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 4 hr 27 min
Today, 4 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 4 hr 23 min
Today, 3 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 4 hr 26 min
Today, 2 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 4 hr 3 min
Today, 1 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 4 hr 10 min
Today, 12 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 4 hr 8 min
Yesterday, 11 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 4 hr 10 min
Yesterday, 10 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 4 hr 2 min
Yesterday, 9 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 3 hr 56 min
Yesterday, 8 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 3 hr 41 min
Departments & services
  • Accident & Emergency
  • Cardiology
  • Care of the Elderly
  • Critical Care
  • ENT
  • Gastroenterology
  • General Surgery
  • Gynaecology
  • Haematology
  • Maternity
  • Orthopaedics
  • Paediatrics
  • Plastic Surgery
  • Renal Services
  • Respiratory
  • Stroke
  • Urology
What’s available here
Accessibility
Ramped Area For Disabled Access
Parking
Pay On Foot Car Parks
Cafe
Oasis Restaurant
Chapel
Small Church On First Floor Open At All Times
Shop
Hospital Shop At Main Entrance
Recent visitor feedbackreported by visitors
Overall
76% would not recommend this department
Staff
69% say staff were friendly and helpful
96% were not kept informed about their wait
54% say they were triaged quickly
Environment
79% say the waiting area was clean
75% say the toilets were clean
79% felt safe in the waiting area
Family
70% say there is no children’s play area
89% say there is no separate children’s waiting area
Facilities
67% say there is not enough seating
74% say there is no TV
89% say food and drink is available nearby
65% say there are phone charging points
88% say free WiFi is available
62% say mobile signal is good
Parking
52% say parking was busy
50% paid £5–10 for parking
Payment accepted: card, cash, app
Based on 28 visitor responses in the last 6 months. This information is collected through a short anonymous survey shown to visitors on this page.
Visitor experiencesshared by visitors

“17hrs still waiting. No updates after 8 hrs, no doctor consultation, no checks. Absolutely filthy waiting area.”

J · 3 months ago

About Ulster Hospital

Ulster Hospital runs a 24-hour accident and emergency department, open to adults and children, on Upper Newtownards Road in Dundonald, Northern Ireland, part of South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust. Type 1 A&E, open 24 hours. The wider site runs 17 listed departments and services, from Cardiology to Urology.

Over the past 28 days, waits here have typically been shortest around 1pm and longest around 6am, a gap of about an hour and 20 minutes. In our visitor surveys, 69% found staff friendly and helpful and 79% said the waiting area was clean.

Frequently asked questions

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

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

When is the A&E at Ulster Hospital quietest?

Based on the last 28 days of readings at Ulster Hospital, waits are usually lowest around 1pm and highest around 6am. 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 Ulster 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. In Northern Ireland the standard is for 95% of patients to be seen and then admitted or discharged within four hours, though busy departments often exceed this. The live figure on this page shows how Ulster Hospital is doing right now.

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 Ulster Hospital open 24 hours?

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

Where is Ulster Hospital and how do I get there?

Ulster Hospital is at Upper Newtownards Road, Dundonald, BT16 1RH. For general enquiries call (028) 9048 4511. Enter your postcode in the Getting here section for a door-to-door route.

Can children be treated at Ulster Hospital A&E?

This A&E serves: Adults and children. 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.
Where this data comes from
Wait times shown here are sourced from publicly available information published by South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust through NI Direct, Northern Ireland's official government service. Our system automatically checks that service every 15 minutes and records the displayed waiting time. Data was last checked at 7:49pm 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 South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust
Independently captured screenshot of South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust’s public wait time page
Captured at 7:49 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.

Directions