Urgent Treatment Centre Adults and children

Penzance Urgent Treatment Centre Live Waiting Times

West Cornwall Hospital

Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust

Live Updated just now
1h 56m
estimated wait time
↑ 37 min longer than usual (1 hr 19 min avg)
1 hr 56 min
longest today
3 min
shortest today
1 hr 19 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
3 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 Waits set to rise
Expected wait over the next few hours
2 hr 5 min

Built from 1,387 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 8am - busiest around 4pm
Typical waits by day of week
Thursday tends to be quietest, Sunday busiest
Nearby A&E & urgent care
Helston MIU
12.2 mi away
Long wait
Camborne Redruth MIU
15.2 mi away
Long wait
Falmouth MIU
20.4 mi away
Long wait
Royal Cornwall Hospital (Treliske) A&E
22.3 mi away
Long wait
St Austell MIU
36.9 mi away
Moderate wait

There are also other nearby A&Es which collect wait times from the community, including Newquay, Withybush General Hospital and Prince Philip Hospital.

Contact & location
St Clare Street, Penzance, Cornwall, TR18 2PF
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
Good
Inspected 8 Mar 2022
Getting here
Train stations
Penzance Rail Station10 min walk to Urgent Treatment Centre
Bus stops
19 routes·3 operators·5 stops within walking distance
West Cornwall Hospital (N-bound, northbound)2 min walk to Urgent Treatment Centre
347Logan Rock CarsLamorna ↔ Penzance
4Go-AheadPenzance ↔ St Just
4AGo-AheadPenzance ↔ Lower Boscaswell
4BGo-AheadPenzance ↔ Lower Boscaswell
6Go-AheadMousehole ↔ Penzance
6Go Cornwall BusPenzance ↔ Mousehole
West Cornwall Hospital (S-bound, southbound)2 min walk to Urgent Treatment Centre
1Go-AheadSennen ↔ Penzance
16Go-AheadSt Ives ↔ Penzance
16AGo-AheadSt Ives ↔ Penzance
1AGo-AheadPenzance ↔ Lands End
2Go-AheadHelston ↔ Penzance
39AGo-AheadHeamoor ↔ Camborne
39AGo Cornwall BusReawla ↔ Penzance
4Go-AheadSt Just ↔ Penzance
4Go Cornwall BusSt Just ↔ Penzance
4AGo-AheadLower Boscaswell ↔ Penzance
4BGo-AheadLower Boscaswell ↔ Penzance
St Clare Medical Centre (SE-bound, south-east)3 min walk to Urgent Treatment Centre
2Go-AheadHelston ↔ Penzance
380Go Cornwall BusCoverack ↔ Penzance
381Go Cornwall BusRedruth ↔ Penzance
383Go Cornwall BusLelant ↔ Penzance
4Go Cornwall BusSt Just ↔ Penzance
4AGo-AheadLower Boscaswell ↔ Penzance
4BGo-AheadLower Boscaswell ↔ Penzance
6SGo-AheadMousehole ↔ Penzance
St Clare Street (SE-bound, south-east)3 min walk to Urgent Treatment Centre
6Go-AheadMousehole ↔ Penzance
6Go Cornwall BusPenzance ↔ Mousehole
6SGo-AheadMousehole ↔ Penzance
St Clare Medical Centre (NW-bound, north-west)3 min walk to Urgent Treatment Centre
4Go-AheadPenzance ↔ St Just
4AGo-AheadPenzance ↔ Lower Boscaswell
4BGo-AheadPenzance ↔ Lower Boscaswell
6SGo-AheadHeamoor ↔ Mousehole
6SGo Cornwall BusHeamoor ↔ Mousehole
Plan journey by public transport
Penzance Urgent Treatment Centre wait times - last 24 hours
Hour Avg. wait People waiting
Today, 12 PM
avg. of 2 readings
 1 hr 49 min 4
Today, 11 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 1 hr 9 min 5
Today, 10 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 1 hr 12 min 6
Today, 9 AM
avg. of 4 readings
 1 hr 9 min 5
Today, 8 AM
avg. of 3 readings
 17 min 3
Yesterday, 9 PM
avg. of 1 reading
 3 min 1
Yesterday, 8 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 37 min 1
Yesterday, 7 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 2 hr 22 min 3
Yesterday, 6 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 3 hr 26 min 3
Yesterday, 5 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 3 hr 5 min 6
Yesterday, 4 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 2 hr 40 min 9
Yesterday, 3 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 3 hr 52 min 10
Yesterday, 2 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 3 hr 21 min 8
Yesterday, 1 PM
avg. of 4 readings
 3 hr 13 min 8

About West Cornwall Hospital

West Cornwall Hospital runs a 24-hour walk-in urgent treatment centre (no appointment needed), open to adults and children, on St Clare Street in Penzance, Cornwall, part of Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust.

The Care Quality Commission rates it Good, last inspected in March 2022. It rated the hospital's urgent and emergency services Good when they were last inspected in December 2018. Over the past 28 days, waits here have typically been shortest around 8am and longest around 4pm, a gap of about 2 hours.

Official NHS performance

92.6%seen within 4 hours
12,254attendances in September 2026
96.4%England average for walk-in units

NHS England publishes these figures for Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust as a whole, covering every walk-in unit the trust runs rather than this site alone. Nationally, walk-in units like this one see 96.4% of patients within four hours, against 60.4% at major A&E departments - which is why minor injuries are usually dealt with faster here.

Attendances by year

NHS yearwalk-in attendancesMonthly averageWithin 4 hours
2023-24138,26311,52295.6%
2024-25144,15212,01393.6%
2025-26144,57512,04894.6%
2026-27 (6 months)81,26413,54493.1%

Between 2023-24 and 2025-26, monthly walk-in attendances rose 5% and the share seen within four hours changed little.

Frequently asked questions

How do I check the current Urgent Treatment Centre wait time at West Cornwall Hospital?

The live waiting time for the Urgent Treatment Centre at West Cornwall Hospital is shown at the top of this page, together with when it was last updated.

When is the Urgent Treatment Centre at West Cornwall Hospital quietest?

Based on the last 28 days of readings at West Cornwall Hospital, waits are usually lowest around 8am and highest around 4pm. 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 West Cornwall Hospital Urgent Treatment Centre?

Urgent Treatment Centres treat urgent but non-life-threatening problems, and most patients are seen more quickly than at a full A&E. You will be assessed on arrival and the most urgent cases go first. For chest pain, stroke symptoms, severe breathing difficulty or major trauma, call 999 instead of attending. NHS England's most recent figures (September 2026) show 92.6% of patients across the trust's walk-in units 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 Urgent Treatment Centre at West Cornwall Hospital open 24 hours?

Yes - the Urgent Treatment Centre at West Cornwall Hospital is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year. In a life-threatening emergency always call 999.

Where is West Cornwall Hospital and how do I get there?

West Cornwall Hospital is at St Clare Street, Penzance, Cornwall, TR18 2PF. For general enquiries call 01736 874000. Enter your postcode in the Getting here section for a door-to-door route.

What is the CQC rating for West Cornwall Hospital?

West Cornwall Hospital is rated Good overall by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the independent regulator of health and social care in England, following an inspection in March 2022. It rated the hospital's urgent and emergency services Good when they were last inspected in December 2018. You can read the full CQC report.

Can children be treated at West Cornwall Hospital Urgent Treatment Centre?

This Urgent Treatment Centre 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 Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust. These figures reach us through a partner NHS data feed rather than a page we check directly, and are refreshed every 15 minutes. Data was last checked at 12:27pm on 26 Oct 2026. A full list of every source we use, and when each was last checked, is on our data sources page.

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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