Quietest times at A&E
Other sites draw a heatmap and call it typical. This page measures it. Every hour we record the wait each live hospital publishes, and the chart below is the average of those readings for each hour of the day, across Leighton, MKUH, Warrington, NCIC, RCH, Birmingham and Midland Eye Centre and Midland Metropolitan, UHB, UHCW, Hereford County.
Average published wait by hour, all live hospitals
Measured from the hospitals' own published waits, read every hour since 14 October 2026. The pattern appears once a week of readings exists.
For life-threatening medical emergencies, call 999 immediately.
Chest pain, breathing difficulty, heavy bleeding, stroke signs or a fit: call 999 at any hour. Triage puts the sickest first whatever the queue looks like.
How to use the quiet hours
- Minor injury, able to wait? Check an urgent treatment centre first: they treat cuts, sprains and simple breaks and are usually quicker than A&E. Which one do I need?
- Not sure? NHS 111 online takes a few minutes and can book you a slot at the right place.
- Going anyway? Look at the live waits, then the hour-by-hour chart on that hospital's page, and bring what you need for a wait.
Where should I go?
- Life-threatening (chest pain, trouble breathing, heavy bleeding, signs of a stroke, a fit that does not stop, someone who cannot be woken): call 999.
- An injury or illness that cannot wait but is not life-threatening: A&E, or an urgent treatment centre, which is often quicker for cuts, sprains, minor burns and minor breaks.
- Not sure how urgent it is: 111 online or call 111. They can book you a slot at the right place.
- Minor (coughs, colds, rashes, aches): a pharmacist can help without an appointment.