Find the nearest hospital or A&E to your postcode
Enter a postcode to see the nearest NHS hospitals with their waiting times and inspection ratings. Locations where CQC has inspected urgent and emergency care are marked; that is not a guarantee of a 24-hour A&E. In an emergency call 999. For planned care you can usually choose any of them — including one with shorter waits. Prefer to browse? See the A–Z list of hospitals in England.
We don't save your postcode in a database; it is sent to postcodes.io to find its location.
How do I find my nearest hospital?
Enter your postcode in the box on this page. HospitalCheck lists the nearest CQC-registered NHS hospital locations in England by straight-line distance and, where the figures are available, shows the share of its NHS trust's waiting list waiting 18 weeks or less, the trust's median wait in weeks and the location's CQC rating.
What should I do in an emergency?
In an emergency call 999 or go to your nearest A&E; for urgent medical help that is not an emergency call 111. This search is not designed for emergencies: it ranks locations by straight-line distance, not travel time. The "CQC-inspected urgent & emergency care" label marks locations where the Care Quality Commission lists an urgent and emergency services core service it has inspected, whether or not it has rated it. It is not a guarantee of a 24-hour A&E department: minor injury units and urgent treatment centres may be included or excluded, so always call 999 in an emergency.
Key facts about this search
- Locations searched: 692 active CQC-registered NHS locations in England.
- Distance is a straight line, not travel time.
- Waiting figures (share of the waiting list within 18 weeks, and median wait) are for the NHS trust as a whole, not the individual site.
- CQC ratings are shown only where the hospital has one.
- “CQC-inspected urgent & emergency care” marks locations where CQC lists an urgent and emergency services core service it has inspected, rated or not rated. It is not a guarantee of a 24-hour A&E department. The A&E within 4 hours figure on those rows is for the whole NHS trust, all A&E department types.
- Figures come from NHS England and Care Quality Commission publications; see the methodology.
Can I choose a hospital other than the nearest one?
For most planned NHS care you can ask your GP to refer you to any of the hospitals listed. One a little further away whose trust has a larger share of its waiting list within 18 weeks may be able to treat you sooner. How your right to choose works.
Is my postcode stored?
We don't save your postcode in a database or link it to you. It is sent to the postcodes.io lookup service to find its location, appears in the page address, and the lookup result is cached for up to 24 hours.