NHS A&E Waiting Times & Attendances
Live NHS A&E statistics 2026. Over 25 million people attend A&E departments in England each year. Watch A&E attendances, 4-hour breaches and 12-hour waits tick in real time.
About These Statistics
Over 25 million people attend A&E departments in England each year, according to NHS England A&E Attendances and Emergency Admissions statistics. This equates to approximately 68,500 attendances every day, or roughly 2,850 per hour across all emergency departments.
The NHS four-hour target requires that 95% of patients attending A&E are seen, treated and either admitted or discharged within four hours of arrival. This target has not been met nationally since July 2015. Performance has deteriorated further in recent years, with typically only 70-75% of patients seen within four hours nationally.
Approximately 4.5 million patients per year wait over four hours in A&E before being admitted, transferred or discharged. A further 1.1 million patients wait over 12 hours from their decision to admit to actually being allocated a bed — a figure that has increased dramatically in recent years and is associated with significant patient harm.
Ambulance handover delays — where patients wait in ambulances outside A&E because no bed or space is available — represent a growing crisis. In 2023/24, approximately 730,000 hours were lost to ambulance handover delays of over 30 minutes in England. This prevents ambulances from responding to new emergency calls.
The pressure on A&E is driven by multiple factors including an ageing population, increased complexity of presentations, mental health attendances, delayed discharges preventing bed availability, and primary care access difficulties leading patients to attend A&E for conditions that could be treated elsewhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Based on official UK government data
How many people attend A&E in England each year?
Over 25 million people attend A&E departments in England each year according to NHS England statistics, equating to approximately 68,500 per day. Type 1 major A&E departments account for the largest proportion. Attendance has increased year on year driven by population growth, ageing, and difficulties accessing GP and other primary care services.
What is the NHS A&E 4-hour target?
The NHS A&E four-hour target requires that 95% of patients attending emergency departments are seen, treated and either admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours of arrival. This standard was introduced in 2004. It has not been met nationally since July 2015 and performance has deteriorated further, with typically only 70-75% of patients meeting the standard in recent years.
How long do patients wait in A&E in England?
The median A&E waiting time in England is approximately 1 hour 20 minutes from arrival to initial assessment, though this varies significantly by department and time of day. Approximately 4.5 million patients per year wait over four hours in total. The most serious concern is patients waiting over 12 hours from a decision to admit to receiving a bed, which affects approximately 1.1 million patients annually and is associated with significant patient harm.