A&E Trauma Unit

Bury St. Edmunds A&E Live Waiting Times

West Suffolk Hospital

West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust

Latest report
17 hr
18 Oct 18:02
Average
8 hr 49 min
7 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
Princess Alexandra Hospital Same Day Emergency Care A&E
41.4 mi away
Long wait
Princess Alexandra Hospital Children's A&E
41.4 mi away
Long wait
Princess Alexandra Hospital A&E
41.4 mi away
Long wait
Spalding Urgent Treatment Centre
53.5 mi away
Long wait
Sheppey MIU
56.5 mi away
Long wait

There are also other nearby A&Es which collect wait times from the community, including Colchester Hospital, Ipswich Hospital and Addenbrooke's.

Contact & location
Hardwick Lane, Bury St. Edmunds, IP33 2QZ
Switchboard: 01284 713000
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
Entrance31 min walk to A&E
Bus stops
24 routes·5 operators·5 stops within walking distance
West Suffolk Hospital (Entrance, north-west)2 min walk to A&E
15Stephensons of EssexBury St Edmunds ↔ Haverhill
15XStephensons of EssexHaverhill ↔ Bury St Edmunds
16Stephensons of EssexBury St Edmunds ↔ Newmarket
47Transport Made SimpleClare ↔ Bury St Edmunds
84Coach ServicesThetford ↔ Bury St Edmunds
86Coach ServicesBrandon ↔ Bury St Edmunds
BR1Stephensons of EssexBury St Edmunds
Breeze 1Stephensons of EssexBury St Edmunds
M22Mulleys MotorwaysBury St Edmunds
West Suffolk Hospital (opp, eastbound)3 min walk to A&E
377Mulleys MotorwaysBury St Edmunds ↔ Bradfield St George
42Transport Made SimpleBury St Edmunds ↔ Braintree
42Central Connect
42ATransport Made SimpleBury St Edmunds ↔ Great Cornard
42ACentral Connect
43Transport Made SimpleBury St Edmunds ↔ Colchester City Cent
43Central Connect
43ATransport Made SimpleBury St Edmunds ↔ Colchester City Cent
43ACentral Connect
43BTransport Made SimpleBury St Edmunds ↔ Colchester City Centre
43BCentral Connect
47Transport Made SimpleClare ↔ Bury St Edmunds
BR1Stephensons of EssexBury St Edmunds
Breeze 1Stephensons of EssexBury St Edmunds
X43Transport Made SimpleBury St Edmunds ↔ Colchester City Cent
X43Central Connect
West Suffolk Hospital (adj, westbound)3 min walk to A&E
15Stephensons of EssexBury St Edmunds ↔ Haverhill
15XStephensons of EssexHaverhill ↔ Bury St Edmunds
16Stephensons of EssexBury St Edmunds ↔ Newmarket
377Mulleys MotorwaysBradfield St George ↔ Bury St Edmunds
42Transport Made SimpleBraintree ↔ Bury St Edmunds
43Transport Made SimpleColchester ↔ Bury St Edmunds
43ATransport Made SimpleColchester City Cent ↔ Bury St Edmunds
43BTransport Made SimpleColchester City Centre ↔ Bury St Edmunds
45Transport Made SimpleSudbury ↔ Bury St Edmunds
47Transport Made SimpleClare ↔ Bury St Edmunds
84Coach ServicesBury St Edmunds ↔ Thetford
BR1Stephensons of EssexBury St Edmunds
Breeze 1Stephensons of EssexBury St Edmunds
M22Mulleys MotorwaysBury St Edmunds
X43Transport Made SimpleColchester City Cent ↔ Bury St Edmunds
Boon Close (opp, westbound)4 min walk to A&E
Boon Close (adj, eastbound)4 min walk to A&E
BR1Stephensons of EssexBury St Edmunds
Breeze 1Stephensons of EssexBury St Edmunds
M11Mulleys MotorwaysBury St Edmunds
M22Mulleys MotorwaysBury St Edmunds
Plan journey by public transport
What’s available here
Accessibility
Disabled ParkingDisabled WcInduction LoopSigning Service AvailableWheelchair Access
Accommodation
Access To TvInternet AccessPublic Telephone
Parking
Car ParkingCycle ParkingDisabled Parking
Food and Amenities
CafeShop
Recent visitor feedbackreported by visitors
Parking
Parking is easy to find
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 West Suffolk Hospital

West Suffolk Hospital runs a 24-hour accident and emergency department, open to all ages, on Hardwick Lane in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, part of West Suffolk 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 41 listed departments and services, from Breast cancer services to Vascular surgery.

The Care Quality Commission rates it Requires Improvement. It rated the hospital's urgent and emergency services Good when they were last inspected in January 2020. The site lists 1,887 parking spaces, 75 of them designated disabled bays, with patient parking averaging £3.50 an hour.

Official NHS performance

79.5%seen within 4 hours
8,264attendances in September 2026
60.4%England average for major A&Es

NHS England publishes these figures for West Suffolk 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, 84% of 220 patients who responded at this site reported a positive experience. The trust's general and acute wards averaged 92.2% 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
2023-2483,2906,94166.8%3,945
2024-2591,2867,60765.4%5,405
2025-2694,5697,88170.4%3,650
2026-27 (6 months)49,5558,25972.1%1,969

Between 2023-24 and 2025-26, monthly A&E attendances rose 14% and the share seen within four hours improved by 3.6 percentage points.

Frequently asked questions

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

The live waiting time for the A&E at West Suffolk 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 West Suffolk 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 West Suffolk 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 West Suffolk Hospital is doing right now. NHS England's most recent figures (September 2026) show 79.5% 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 West Suffolk Hospital recently, submitting your wait takes a few seconds and helps others plan.

Is the A&E at West Suffolk Hospital open 24 hours?

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

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

West Suffolk Hospital is at Hardwick Lane, Bury St. Edmunds, IP33 2QZ. For general enquiries call 01284 713000. Enter your postcode in the Getting here section for a door-to-door route.

Is parking free at West Suffolk Hospital?

No - patient and visitor parking here averages about £3.50 an hour (NHS estates return, 2024-25). The site lists 1,887 parking spaces, including 75 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 West Suffolk Hospital?

West Suffolk 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 Good when they were last inspected in January 2020. You can read the full CQC report.

Can children be treated at West Suffolk 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 West Suffolk Hospital a Major Trauma Centre?

No - West Suffolk 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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