Emergency care waiting time statistics (July – September 2026)

This statistical bulletin reports the total time spent in an ED from arrival until admission, transfer or discharge for all new and unplanned review attendances at emergency care departments across Northern Ireland. The figures do not include planned review attendances.

2. Time is measured from when a patient arrives at the ED (time of arrival is recorded at registration or triage whichever is earlier (clock starts)) until the patient departs the ED (time of departure is defined as when the patient's clinical care episode is completed within the ED (clock stops)).

3. The draft Ministerial targets for emergency care waiting times state that:

• ‘95% of patients attending any Type 1, 2 or 3 Emergency Care Department are either treated and discharged home, or admitted, within four hours of their arrival in the department; and no patient attending any Emergency Care Department should wait longer than 12 hours.’
• ‘[…] at least 80% of patients to have commenced treatment, following triage, within 2 hours.’

4. Information which presents a summary of the emergency care clinical quality indicators for Northern Ireland has also been included in this release. This information is not Accredited Official Statistics but has been included to provide a more comprehensive and balanced view of the care delivered by EDs and reflects the experience of patients and the timeliness of the care they receive.

5. Please note, patients with lower acuity can attend more appropriate services available at Minor Injury Units (MIU) and avoid potentially longer attendances at a Type 1 Emergency Department (ED). Prior to the introduction of MIUs, these patients would have otherwise attended a Type 1 ED and would have generally been discharged within 4 hours. As such, this will result in an increase to the percentage of patients at Type 1 EDs who wait longer than 4 hours.

6. Please note that some changes to the designation of hospitals within this publication has taken place as of 1 April 2025: Downe and Lagan Valley Type 2 EDs were redesignated as Type 3 EDs in line with departmental definitions; and urgent care centres are reported as Type 3 EDs alongside minor injury units as they are providing equivalent services.

7. Please note: Figures on time from arrival to triage and from triage to treatment are based on valid triage and valid treatment instances, respectively. In Southern Health and Social Care (HSC) Trust data quality issues have been identified in encompass data which mean the number of valid triage instances and valid treatment instances recorded is lower than usual. This is being investigated as part of a data validation exercise.

8. Readers are advised to be cautious when making direct comparisons between Northern Ireland and other UK Jurisdictions as waiting times may not be measured in a comparable manner.  It should also be noted that the way in which emergency care services are delivered differs between UK jurisdictions. This means that the number and types of patients included in the figures may differ between countries. In particular, the 12-hour waiting time information published by England and Northern Ireland is not equivalent and should not be compared. Further information on comparability between Northern Ireland and other UK Jurisdictions are included in the ‘Emergency Care Waiting Time Statistics – Additional Guidance’ booklet. Emergency Care Waiting Time Statistics – Additional Guidance

9. The DoH collaborated with the Office for National Statistics (ONS), together with colleagues in England, Scotland and Wales to produce a summary report of the cross-UK comparability of emergency care waiting time statistics from January 2013 to September 2023. The report can be viewed or downloaded using the link:https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/healthcaresystem/articles/accidentandemergencywaittimesacrosstheuk/2024-02-28.

10. There are three separate categories of emergency care facility included in this publication:

• Type 1 Department is a consultant led 24 hour service with full resuscitation facilities and designated accommodation for the reception of emergency care patients.
• Type 2 Department is a consultant led mono specialty emergency care service (e.g. ophthalmology, dental) with designated accommodation for the reception of patients.
• Type 3 Department is a type of ED/minor injury activity with designated accommodation for the reception of emergency care patients. The department may be doctor led, general practitioner led or nurse led and treats at least minor injuries and illnesses and can be routinely accessed without appointment. A service mainly or entirely appointment based (for example a GP Practice or Out-Patient Clinic) is excluded even though it may treat a number of patients with minor illness or injury. Includes Urgent Treatment Centres.

11. Figures incorporate all returns and amendments received from HSC Trusts up to Tuesday 20 October 2026.

12. Further information on Emergency Care Statistics is available from:
Hospital Waits Information Branch
Department of Health
Annexe 2, Castle Buildings
Stormont,
BT4 3SQ
Email: statistics@health-ni.gov.uk
Internet: DoH Statistics and Research

13.. For media enquiries please contact DoH Press Office by e-mail: pressoffice@health-ni.gov.uk

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