🏥 About Wait Times NI

Wait Times NI tracks historical A&E waiting times across all 15 emergency departments in Northern Ireland.

We've collected 316,611 wait time readings from November 2023 to present.

📊 Data Source

All data comes from the official NI Direct Emergency Department Wait Times page, published by the Northern Ireland government.

We check for updates every 15 minutes and store historical data to enable trend analysis and help identify patterns in A&E demand.

🏨 Hospitals Covered

Omagh Hospital and Primary Care Complex Urgent care and treatment Centre
Altnagelvin Area Hospital Emergency Department
Antrim Area Hospital Emergency Department
Causeway Area Hospital Emergency Department
Craigavon Area Hospital Emergency Department
Daisy Hill Hospital Emergency Department
Downe Hospital Urgent Care Centre
Lagan Valley Hospital Emergency Department
Mater Hospital Emergency Department
Mid Ulster Hospital Minor Injury Unit
Royal Childrens Hospital Emergency Department
Royal Victoria Hospital Emergency Department
South Tyrone Hospital Minor Injury Unit
South West Acute Hospital Emergency Department
Ulster Hospital Emergency Department

⚠️ Important Disclaimer

This is an independent project and is NOT affiliated with the NHS, NI Direct, the Department of Health, or any government body.

This is not medical advice. Wait times shown are historical averages and may not reflect current conditions. Actual wait times can vary significantly based on the severity of cases and staffing levels. This data is provided for informational purposes only.

In a medical emergency, always call 999. Do not delay seeking care based on wait time information. A&E departments triage patients by urgency — if you have a serious condition, you will be seen faster regardless of the average wait.

🔍 What the Data Shows

  • Live Status — Current average wait at each A&E
  • Trends — How wait times change over days/weeks
  • Compare — Side-by-side hospital comparison
  • Heatmap — Best/worst times to visit by hour and day

📈 Data Limitations

  • Wait times are averages, not guarantees
  • Data may be delayed up to 15 minutes
  • Historical gaps may exist during system outages
  • Minor Injury Units have different scope than full A&E

💡 About This Project

Wait Times NI is a SchwadLabs.io public data project. We believe health information should be accessible, visual, and useful — not buried in hard-to-read government pages.

Questions or feedback? Contact schwad@schwadlabs.io