Developers
Every figure on CheckWaitingTimes is available as JSON and through an MCP server for AI assistants. Free, no key, no sign-up. The figures are NHS England's published statistics, checked and joined up by hospital and area.
JSON API
Base address https://checkwaitingtimes.co.uk. Most pages have a JSON twin: put /api in front of the path and add .json. Full description: OpenAPI.
| Endpoint | Returns |
|---|---|
/api/index.json | Every hospital, specialty, test, area and A&E department slug, with the latest data months |
/api/hospital/{slug}.json | One provider: A&E summary, every specialty's wait, shorter waits nearby |
/api/area/{area}/{specialty}.json | Providers within 25 miles of a council area, shortest wait first |
/api/a-and-e/{area}.json | A&E departments within 25 miles of a council area, nearest first |
/api/a-and-e/hospital/{slug}.json | One A&E department: four-hour performance, live wait where published, ambulance times |
/api/specialty/{specialty}.json | Every provider in England for one specialty |
/api/tests/{test}.json | Scan and test waits (MRI, CT and more) at every provider |
/api/ambulance.json | Every English ambulance service ranked, with all four categories |
/api/this-month.json | What changed in the latest NHS England release |
Example: /api/a-and-e/enfield.json. Every response carries a provenance block: source, licence and the month the figures are for.
MCP server
For Claude, ChatGPT and other assistants that support the Model Context Protocol. Streamable HTTP, no login:
https://mcp.checkwaitingtimes.co.uk/mcp
11 tools over the same figures:
search_hospitals: Find a trust, independent provider or A&E department by name, acronym or town.get_hospital_waits: One provider: A&E performance, every specialty's wait, and shorter waits nearby; or one specialty there.get_specialty_national: Every provider in England for one specialty, shortest wait first.waits_near: Providers within 25 miles of a council area for one specialty, shortest wait first.ae_near: A&E departments near a council area, with last month's four-hour performance.get_live_ae: Live A&E waits where trusts publish them, read every ten minutes.get_test_waits: Waits for MRI, CT, ultrasound, endoscopy and other tests at every provider.this_month: What changed in the latest NHS England waiting list release.ambulance_response_times: Ambulance response times by service, against the national standards.detailed_specialty_waits: Treatment times for detailed specialties (pain management, breast and more) from NHS My Planned Care.get_neuro_waits: Autism and ADHD assessment waits for one NHS area.
Answers for urgent care always include NHS 111 and 999. The server gives facts, never medical advice.
Live A&E waits
Some trusts publish their current A&E wait on their own websites. We read those pages every ten minutes and publish them together: https://live.checkwaitingtimes.co.uk/ae.json. Each entry is the trust's own estimate, with the time it was read.
Embed the live panel on your own site: <iframe src="https://checkwaitingtimes.co.uk/embed/live-ae" title="Live A&E waits" width="100%" height="420" loading="lazy"></iframe>
Licence and citing
The underlying figures are NHS England statistics under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Please cite the CheckWaitingTimes page a figure came from and its data month, for example: "North Middlesex Hospital A&E, September 2026, CheckWaitingTimes (https://checkwaitingtimes.co.uk/a-and-e/enfield), from NHS England data."
Please cache responses: the monthly figures change once a month and the live feed every ten minutes. For heavy or commercial use, get in touch first.
Method and contact
Methodology, sources and corrections. For assistants: llms.txt. Questions or a broken endpoint: joseph@checkwaitingtimes.co.uk.