Key Points

This statistical release presents annual information on Phone First and activity and attendances at emergency departments (EDs) across the five Health and Social Care (HSC) Trusts in Northern Ireland, including the time spent in emergency departments. It also reports on activity of the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) including calls received, incidents and response times.

178,846 calls to Phone First

820,443 attendances at emergency departments (new & unplanned reviews)

43.3%
of ED attendances treated and discharged or admitted within 4 hours

240,914
calls answered by the NIAS

  • During 2025/26, there were 820,443 attendances at urgent and emergency care services in Northern Ireland, 18,974 (2.4%) more than in 2024/25, 71,861 (9.6%) more than five years ago.

  • Some 636,208 attendances in 2025/26 were at a Type 1 emergency department and 184,235 attended a Type 3 emergency department, which includes Urgent Care Centres (UCCs) and Minor Injury Units (MIUs).

  • The Phone First service answered 178,846 calls during 2025/26, of which, 117,003 (65.4%) resulted in the patient being referred to an emergency department.

  • The 4 hour waiting times target states that 95% of patients attending an emergency department should treated and discharged, or admitted within 4 hours of arrival. In 2025/26, 43.3% of patients were treated and discharged or admitted within 4 hours. This compares to 45.7% in 2024/25 and 54.8% five years ago.

  • Performance against the 4 hour waiting times target decreased at both Type 1 and Type 3 EDs compared with last year, from 35.6% to 32.5% in Type 1 EDs and from 87.9% to 84% in Type 3 EDs.

  • The 12 hour waiting times target states that no patient attending an emergency department should wait more than 12 hours from arrival in ED, to discharge or admission. In 2025/26, 139,108 (17.3%) patients spent longer than 12 hours in an emergency department compared with 133,285 (17.1%) in 2024/25 and 78,969 (10.9%) five years ago.

  • In 2025/26, some 57.5% of patients attending emergency departments commenced their treatment within 2 hours of being triaged. This compares to 61.7% in 2024/25 and 70.5% five years ago.

  • The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) answered 240,914 calls and attended 177,566 incidents during 2025/26. The number of calls answered by the NIAS increased from 232,147 in 2024/25 to 240,914 in 2025/26. The number of incidents increased from 173,695 to 177,566 during the same period.

Unscheduled Care Services

The map shows the designated type and location of each emergency department (ED), minor injury unit (MIU) and urgent care centre (UCC) in Northern Ireland. Further information on the individual urgent and emergency departments can be found at https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/publications/emergency-care-waiting-times-additional-guidance

Phone First Services

Phone First

  • Phone First is a telephone triage service for patients considering travelling to an emergency department, to access alternative assessments, advice, and information and receive appropriate care promptly.

  • The service was established in October 2020 following the ‘No More Silos’ action plan, which sought to improve the co-ordination between primary and secondary care, leading to universal patient triage, virtual consultation, and new clinical pathways.

Notes

  • Phone First figures from South Eastern Health and Social Care (HSC) Trust only include Ulster Phone First calls from February 2024 onwards, and do not include figures for Lagan Valley and Downe Phone First calls.

  • Note that patients who have been managed by an alternative pathway to that of ED services, such as Phone First, may eventually result in an attendance at an ED at a later date.

Guidance

The number of calls received by the Phone First service and the number referred to ED from Phone First is detailed in the table below for 2021/22 to 2025/26. A referral to an emergency department through the Phone First service does not necessarily result in an ED attendance, as some patients may not subsequently attend.

Table 1: Phone First calls and referrals to emergency departments

This table presents the number of Phone First calls and the number and percentage of Phone First calls referred to emergency departments for each of the last five years.

2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26
Total PhoneFirst Calls 137,625 160,090 145,186 152,544 178,846
Number Referred to ED 73,340 67,804 76,408 110,933 117,003
Percent Referred to ED 53.3% 42.4% 52.6% 72.7% 65.4%
* Service introduced in October 2020

During 2025/26, 178,846 calls were received by Phone First services. This was 17.2% more than in 2024/25 and 30% more than five years ago.

A total of 117,003 (65.4%) of the calls recieved in 2025/26 resulted in the patient being referred to an ED, less than in 2025/26 (72.7%). Some 61,843 patients were not referred to an ED in 2025/26.

The number of calls received by Phone First and the number of patients referred to an emergency department from Phone First in each month of the last five years is set out in the figure below.

Figure 1: Phone First calls and referrals to emergency departments

This figure presents the number of Phone First calls from October 2020 to date, that were referred to emergency departments and those that were not.

Since Phone First was established in October 2020, the highest number of Phone First calls were received in March 2026 (16,563), with the highest number of referrals to ED from Phone First in April 2025 (10,895).

Urgent and emergency care attendances

ED Activity

  • Urgent Care: Treatment of an illness or injury that requires urgent attention but is not a life-threatening situation. Urgent care in Northern Ireland includes: General Practice during weekdays; GP Out of Hours Services at night and weekends; pharmacies; minor injury units; urgent treatment centres; emergency departments; and, the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service.

  • Minor injury units and urgent care centres are classed as Type 3 emergency departments.

  • Emergency Care: Life threatening illnesses or accidents which require immediate intensive treatment. Emergency Care is currently provided in hospitals with Type 1 emergency departments and by the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service.

Notes

  • This publication refers to new and unplanned review attendances. Information on planned review attendances is available in the additional tables found at https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/publications/hospital-statistics-emergency-care-activity-202526

  • The Urgent Care Centre service was established following the ‘No More Silos’ action plan, which sought to improve the co-ordination between primary and secondary care, leading to universal patient triage, virtual consultation, and new clinical pathways.

  • Note that only total attendance figures are available from Craigavon and Daisy Hill UCCs in the Southern HSC Trust, as these services’ data is held on the GP system and not on encompass. These attendance figures cannot be broken down by new and unplanned review categories and will in the following be referred to as “Uncategorised attendances (Craigavon & Daisy Hill UCCs)”.

Guidance

The unscheduled care service has undergone several structural changes over the last years – as well as external events – which have impacted the services.

Figure 2: Attendances at emergency departments and key events (April 2008 to March 2026)

The figure below sets out the numbers attending an emergency department each month, and key events each month from April 2008 to March 2026.

During each of the last 18 years, the percentage of ED attendances was generally highest in December and January and lowest during May and June. It should be noted that the number of attendances was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly during 2020.

The highest attendance of 73,392 was recorded in May 2018, and the highest attendance since 2020 and the introduction of the no more silos Phone First and urgent care centres was in March 2026 (72,103).

Attendances by HSC Trust

A person can attend any ED in any HSC Trust regardless of their trust of residence. Each HSC Trust has a different configuration of urgent and emergency care services and this should be taken into consideration when comparing overall performance across HSC Trusts.

Figure 3: Attendances at emergency departments, by attendance type and HSC Trust (2025/26)

The figure below details the total number of attendances, and the numbers of new and unplanned review attendances at emergency departments within each HSC Trust. For Uncategorised attendances (Craigavon & Daisy Hill UCCs), please see ‘Notes’ above.

During 2025/26, there were 820,443 attendances at urgent and emergency care services in Northern Ireland, 18,974 more than in 2024/25, and 71,861 more than five years ago.

Of the ED attendances in 2025/26, 752,960 (91.8%) were new attendances, and 51,384 (6.3%) were unplanned review attendances. For a further 16,099 (2.0%) of the attendances, which are from Craigavon and Daisy Hill UCCs, a breakdown is not available. Belfast HSC Trust had the highest percentage of attendances at 23.1% with 189,243 attendances, while Western HSC Trust had the lowest at 16.5% with 135,748 attendances.

The number of new attendances in 2025/26 was highest in the Belfast HSC Trust (175,136) and lowest in the Western HSC Trust (129,344), whilst the number of unplanned review attendances was highest in the Southern HSC Trust (15,494) and lowest in the Western HSC Trust (6,404).

Table 2: Attendances at emergency departments, by HSC Trust (2021/22 - 2025/26)

The first tab of this table sets out the number of emergency department attendances in each HSC Trust and the second tab shows the rate per 100,000-population.

Total attendances at ED, by HSC Trust
HSC Trust 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26
Belfast 187,791 199,842 201,203 181,689 189,243
Northern 142,336 148,915 156,176 151,086 153,504
South Eastern 138,500 141,217 143,986 162,626 165,804
Southern 157,864 161,604 162,778 173,094 176,144
Western 122,091 124,553 126,482 132,974 135,748
Northern Ireland 748,582 776,131 790,625 801,469 820,443
Attendances, rate per 100,000
HSC Trust 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 Trust Population
Belfast 50,861.0 54,124.9 54,493.5 49,208.3 51,254.3 369,224
Northern 29,528.5 30,893.3 32,399.6 31,343.7 31,845.3 482,030
South Eastern 37,312.2 38,044.2 38,790.2 43,811.8 44,668.0 371,192
Southern 39,912.3 40,857.9 41,154.7 43,762.9 44,534.0 395,527
Western 40,372.8 41,186.9 41,824.8 43,971.6 44,888.9 302,409
Northern Ireland 38,980.9 40,415.4 41,170.2 41,734.9 42,722.9 1,920,382

In 2025/26, there were 42,722.9 attendances per 100,000 population in Northern Ireland. The Belfast HSC Trust reported the highest number of attendances per 100,000 population during 2025/26 (51,254.3), whilst the Northern HSC Trust reported the lowest (31,845.3).

Figure 4: Total attendances, by emergency department type (2025/26)

This figure presents the number of new and unplanned review attendances at emergency departments by the department type. For uncategorised attendances, please see ‘Notes’ above.

Some 636,208 attendances in 2025/26 were at a Type 1 ED and 184,235 attended a Type 3 ED.

In 2025/26, almost 8 in 10 (591,832, 78.6%) new attendances were at type 1 EDs and 161,128 (21.4%) attendances were at type 3 EDs.

Attendances by Age

Of all attendances to ED, 14.1% (115,408) were aged 75 and over, and 7.9% were aged under 5 (64,800).

As a proportion of their age group, those 75 and over were most likely to attend an emergency department (7,211 per 10,000 population). Please note that one patient may have several visits.

Figure 5: Emergency department attendances by age (numbers and rate per 10,000 population) (2025/26)

The figure in the first tab below presents information on emergency department attendances by age, and the figure in the second tab presents emergency department attendances by age per 10,000 of the population.

Emergency department attendances by age
ED Attendances by age, rate per 10,000 population

During 2025/26, the highest number of new attendances per 10,000-population was in the 75 and over (7,211.2) age group, followed by the under 5 age group (5,895.9). All other age groups were between 3,352.1 and 4,358.6 per 10,000 population.

Figure 6: New and unplanned review attendances by age group 2025/26

This figure shows information on the percentage of new and unplanned review attendances categorised by age group.

In each age group the majority of attendances were new, with only a small percentage of unplanned review attendances. Those aged 5 - 15 (5.2%) had the lowest percentage of unplanned review attendances, whilst those aged Under 5 had the highest (7.7%).

Clinical Quality Indicators Attendances

Clinical Indicators

  • The Department of Health (DoH) monitors a series of emergency care clinical quality indicators which provide a comprehensive and balanced view of the care delivered by EDs in Northern Ireland and reflect the experience of patients and the care they receive.

  • The clinical indicators in this section are in addition to the waiting time targets and indicators that are covered in the next sections.

Notes

  • The clinical indicators in this section are in addition to the waiting time targets and indicators that are covered in the next sections. Mapping of regional codes for clinical indicators sourced from the new encompass system are currently under review. Changes to how clinical indicators are coded between the legacy systems and the new encompass systems may result in figures changing more than expected from 2025/26. These changes may not represent changes in the service but changes in how they are recorded.

  • Please note in the Southern HSC Trust only total attendance figures are available for Craigavon and Daisy Hill UCCs, as data for these departments is recorded on the GP system and not on encompass. Therefore, figures for these UCC’s are not included in the analysis for clinical quality indicators, as this level of data is not available.

  • Two clinical indicators (GP referrals and re-attendances within 7 days) are calculated using arrival date whereas all other clinical indicators are calculated by departure date. This means that the figures my differ slightly when comparing total attendances.

Guidance

GP referrals

Patients may initially present at their GP and subsequently be referred by the GP to an ED. The figure below sets out the percentage of ED attendances that were referred by a GP since 2014/15.

Figure 7: Emergency department attendances referred from a GP (2014/15 - 2025/26)

The figure below shows the percentage of emergency department attendances who were referred by a GP.

With the exception of 2021/22, the percentage of attendances referred by a GP has risen from around 15.3% in 2014/15 to 18.1% in 2023/24. The decrease in GP referrals in 2025/26 to12.4% may in part be due to a change in recording practices on the new encompass system (see ‘Notes’ above).

Table 3: Number and percentage of GP referrals at emergency departments, by HSC Trust (2021/22 - 2025/26)

The first tab of this table sets out the number of GP referrals to emergency departments in each HSC Trust, and the second tab shows the percentage.

Number of GP Referrals
HSC Trust 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26
Belfast 15,790 22,654 25,047 15,242 24,135
Northern 21,204 38,352 39,999 31,763 26,654
South Eastern 25,860 23,393 23,613 22,899 19,688
Southern 30,522 31,488 30,969 29,127 18,856
Western 17,201 16,750 17,390 17,937 10,502
Northern Ireland 110,577 132,637 137,018 116,968 99,835
Percentage of GP Referrals
HSC Trust 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26
Belfast 9.7% 12.8% 14.2% 8.6% 12.8%
Northern 14.9% 25.7% 25.6% 21.0% 17.4%
South Eastern 18.7% 16.6% 16.4% 14.1% 11.9%
Southern 19.5% 19.8% 20.0% 18.6% 11.8%
Western 14.1% 13.4% 13.8% 13.5% 7.7%
Northern Ireland 15.3% 17.7% 18.1% 15.0% 12.4%

During 2025/26, 17.4% of ED attendances in the Northern HSC Trust had been referred by a GP, compared with 7.7% in the Western HSC Trust.

Figure 8: Percentage of GP referrals to ED, by department type (2025/26)

This figure presents the percentage of patients referred to an emergency department from a GP, by department type.

Some 14.8% of attendances referred by a GP were seen at Type 1 EDs, compared with 3.2% at Type 3 EDs.

Leaving emergency departments before treatment complete

Patients can leave the ED at any time during their attendance, and some chose to leave before their treatment is complete. This section reports on the number and percentage of attendances who leave ED before their treatment is complete.

Figure 9: Percentage leaving ED before their treatment was complete (2014/15 - 2025/26)

The figure below presents information on the percentage of attendances that left an emergency department before their treatment was complete.

Since 2014, the percentage of attendances that left before their treatment was complete was highest in 2023/24 (7.1%) and lowest in 2020/21 (2.9%).

Table 4: Number and percentage of attendances leaving emergency departments before their treatment is complete, by HSC Trust

The first tab of this table presents the number, and the second tab the percentage, of attendances within each HSC Trust leaving an emergency department before their treatment was complete.

Number who left before treatment complete
HSC Trust 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26
Belfast 13,904 16,921 19,472 19,189 18,288
Northern 5,789 8,391 9,955 9,473 7,315
South Eastern 4,851 6,368 6,558 6,859 6,424
Southern 9,985 11,393 9,395 10,129 9,895
Western 6,713 7,661 8,436 7,541 6,060
Northern Ireland 41,242 50,734 53,816 53,191 47,982
Percentage who left before treatment complete
HSC Trust 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26
Belfast 8.5% 9.6% 11.0% 10.8% 9.7%
Northern 4.1% 5.6% 6.4% 6.3% 4.8%
South Eastern 3.5% 4.5% 4.6% 4.2% 3.9%
Southern 6.4% 7.2% 6.1% 6.5% 6.2%
Western 5.5% 6.2% 6.7% 5.7% 4.5%
Northern Ireland 5.7% 6.8% 7.1% 6.8% 6.0%

Belfast HSC Trust (9.7%) reported the highest percentage of ED attendances leaving before their treatment was complete whilst South Eastern HSC Trust had the lowest (3.9%).

Figure 10: Percentage of attendances leaving emergency departments before their treatment was complete, by department type (2025/26)

This figure presents information on the percentage of attendances who left an emergency department before their treatment was complete, by department type.

During 2025/26, 7.1% of attendances left a Type 1 ED before their treatment was complete, compared with 1.5% at Type 3 EDs.

Re-Attendances within 7 Days

When patients leave an ED, either before their treatment is complete or after discharge, they may need to return to ED for additional care. The figure below presents information on the percentage of attendances who returned to the same ED for the same condition within 7 days of their original attendance.

Figure 11: Percentage of re-attendances at emergency departments within 7 Days (2014/15 - 2025/26)

This figure shows the percentage of attendances who returned to the same emergency department for the same condition within 7 days of their original attendance.

Between 2014/15 and 2023/24, the percentage of patients re-attending an ED within 7 days ranged from 3.3% to 3.6%, whilst in 2024/25 it increased to 4.6% and subsequently 5% in 2025/26. This increase may in part be due to how information is captured on the new encompass system (see notes above).

The table below presents information on the number and percentage of attendances within each HSC Trust who returned to the same ED for the same condition, within 7 days of their original attendance, in the last 5 years.

Table 5: Number and percentage of re-attendances at an emergency department within 7 days, by HSC Trust

The first tab sets out the number and the second tab the percentage of attendances who returned to the same emergency department for the same condition, within 7 days of their first attendance, by HSC Trust.

Number of re-attendances within 7 days, by HSC Trust
HSC Trust 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26
Belfast 3,977 4,934 4,773 10,511 12,145
Northern 4,418 5,108 5,969 5,561 5,805
South Eastern 3,394 3,217 3,319 5,917 5,779
Southern 6,942 6,435 6,357 7,159 11,008
Western 7,296 7,144 7,180 6,825 5,243
Northern Ireland 26,027 26,838 27,598 35,973 39,980
Percentage of re-attendances within 7 days, by HSC Trust
HSC Trust 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26
Belfast 2.4% 2.8% 2.7% 5.9% 6.4%
Northern 3.1% 3.4% 3.8% 3.7% 3.8%
South Eastern 2.5% 2.3% 2.3% 3.6% 3.5%
Southern 4.4% 4.1% 4.1% 4.6% 6.9%
Western 6.0% 5.7% 5.7% 5.1% 3.9%
Northern Ireland 3.6% 3.6% 3.6% 4.6% 5.0%

During 2025/26, the percentage of re-attendances at an ED within 7 days was highest in the Southern Trust (6.9%), and lowest in the South Eastern Trust (3.5%).

Figure 12: Percentage of re-attendances at emergency departments within 7 days, by type (2025/26)

This figure sets out the percentage of attendances who returned to the same emergency department for the same condition, within 7 days of their first attendance, by department Type.

During 2025/26, Type 1 EDs reported the highest percentage (5.5%) of unplanned reviews within 7 days of the original attendance for the same condition, compared with 3.0% at Type 3 EDs.

Waiting times at emergency departments

Waiting times

  • This section refers to attendances at EDs, where the patient physically attended an ED and does not include Phone First activity where the patient did not attend an ED.

  • Patients with lower acuity can attend more appropriate services available at Type 3 EDs and avoid potentially longer attendances at Type 1 EDs. Prior to the introduction of additional Type 3 EDs (UCCs), 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.

The draft targets for emergency care waiting times in Northern Ireland state that:

  1. ‘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.’

  2. ‘At least 80% of patients to have commenced treatment, following triage, within 2 hours.’

Notes

  • Urgent care centres (UCC) are now designated as Type 3 EDs, however, in the Southern HSC Trust only total attendance figures are available for Craigavon and Daisy Hill UCCs, as data for these departments is recorded on the GP system and not on encompass. Therefore, figures for these UCC’s are not included in the analysis for clinical quality indicators, as this level of data is not available.

  • Patients attending the Ulster UCC can spend longer than 12 hours in ED. As the Ulster UCC is only open 8am to 6pm each day, any patients who remain in the UCC at 6pm and continue to require treatment, will be cared for / treated in the main Ulster ED. The total time spent in ED by these patients will be reported against the Ulster UCC.

  • For details regarding individual EDs please refer to the published excel tables accompanying this publication.

Guidance

Emergency department waiting time targets

There are two draft ministerial targets relating to total time spent in ED – 95% should be admitted or discharged within 4 hours and none should wait longer than 12 hours.

Following a decrease in ED attendances during the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of ED attendances waiting under four hours has decreased year on year, whereas the number waiting between 4 & 12 hours and over 12 hours has gradually increased.

Figure 13: Attendances by time spent at emergency departments (2014/15 - 2025/26)

This figure presents the length of time patients spent at emergency departments from arrival to discharge or admission, broken down by within 4 hours, between 4 and 12 hours and over 12 hours.

In 2025/26, some 347,998 attendances spent up to four hours at ED from arrival to discharge or admission, which represents 43.3% of all attendances; 317,238 attendances waited between 4 to 12 hours (39.4%); and 139,108 attendances waited over 12 hours (17.3%).

Table 6: Attendances by time spent at emergency departments, by HSC Trust (2025/26)

This table presents the length of time patients spent at emergency departments from arrival to discharge or admission, broken down by within 4 hours, between 4 and 12 hours and over 12 hours, by HSC Trust.

Waiting Time Belfast Northern South Eastern Southern Western Northern Ireland
Within 4 Hours 35.9% 40.4% 49.4% 43.5% 49.1% 43.3%
4 to 12 Hours 47.0% 42.2% 34.5% 36.9% 34.8% 39.4%
12 Hours or more 17.1% 17.4% 16.2% 19.6% 16.1% 17.3%

During 2025/26, the South Eastern HSC Trust reported the highest percentage of attendances treated and discharged, or admitted within 4 hours (49.4%), whilst the Belfast HSC Trust reported the lowest (35.9%).

Figure 14: Attendances by time spent at emergency departments, by department type (2025/26)

This figure presents the length of time patients spent at emergency departments from arrival to discharge or admission, by within 4 hours, between 4 and 12 hours and over 12 hours, by department type.

During 2025/26, over 8 in 10 (84%) attendances at Type 3 EDs were discharged or admitted within 4 hours of their arrival in the ED, compared with 32.5% in Type 1 EDs.

Clinical quality indicators: waiting times

Clinical indicators

In addition to the draft Ministerial emergency care waiting times targets, the DoH currently monitor a series of emergency care clinical quality indicators which provide a more comprehensive and balanced view of the care delivered by EDs in Northern Ireland and reflect the experience of patients and the timeliness of the care they receive.

For a number of indicators, two aspects of the time waited are reported, including:

  • the median waiting time, which is the time below which 50% of patients waited, and
  • the 95th percentile, which is the time below which 95% of patients waited.

Notes

  • Mapping of regional codes for clinical indicators sourced from the new encompass system are currently under review. Changes to how clinical indicators are coded between the legacy systems and the new encompass systems may result in figures differing more than expected from 2024/25. These changes may not represent changes in the service but reflect how they are recorded.

  • Two clinical indicators (GP referrals and re-attendances within 7 days) are calculated using arrival date, whereas all other clinical indicators are calculated by departure date. This means that the figures may differ slightly when comparing total attendances.

  • Please note in the Southern HSC Trust only total attendance figures are available for Craigavon and Daisy Hill UCCs, as data for these departments is recorded on the GP system and not on encompass. Therefore, figures for these UCC’s are not included in the analysis for clinical quality indicators, as this level of data is not available.

  • Figures for the clinical quality indicators of time from arrival to triage (initial assessment) and time from triage to treatment are based on valid triage instances and valid treatment instances, respectively. In Southern HSC Trust, data quality issues have been identified in encompass data which mean the number of valid triage instances recorded is lower than usual. This is being investigated as part of a data validation exercise.

Guidance

Data on clinical quality indicators are not Accredited Official Statistics, but have been published to provide users with a comprehensive view of emergency care activity. Data is sourced from the HSC Trusts.

A complete list of the clinical quality indicators with additional information for each indicator is available from the link below:

https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/publications/emergency-care-activity-returns-and-guidance

Waiting time from arrival to triage (initial assessment)

This refers to the time from arrival at ED to the start of a patient’s triage by a medical professional for all attendances.

Figure 15: Time from arrival to triage (2021/22 - 2025/26)

This figure details the median and the 95th percentile length of time patients spent in ED from arrival to being triaged (initial assessment) by a medical practitioner.

The median length of time patients spent at ED from arrival to being triaged (initial assessment) by a medical practitioner was 14 minutes in 2025/26, 2 minutes longer than in 2021/22 (12 minutes).

During 2025/26, 95 percent of patients were triaged within 1 hour and 11 minutes of their arrival at an ED, 9 minutes longer than in 2021/22 (1 hour and 2 minutes).

Table 7: Time from arrival to triage, by HSC Trust (2025/26)

This table details the median and the 95th percentile length of time patients spent at an ED from arrival to being triaged (initial assessment) by a medical practitioner.

HSC Trust Median (HH:MM) 95th Percentile (HH:MM)
Belfast 00:15 01:18
Northern 00:13 00:53
South Eastern 00:13 01:12
Southern 00:13 01:10
Western 00:17 01:17
Northern Ireland 00:14 01:11

The median length of time spent at an ED from arrival triage in 2025/26 ranged from 13 minutes in the Northern HSC Trust to 17 minutes in the Western HSC trust. Furthermore, 95 percent of patients were triaged within 53 minutes in the Northern HSC Trust, compared with 1 hour and 18 minutes in the Belfast HSC Trust.

Figure 16: Time from arrival to triage, by department type (2025/26)

The figure below details median and the 95th percentile length of time patients waited from arrival at an emergency department to being triaged (initial assessment) by a medical practitioner.

In 2025/26, the median waiting time from arrival to triage by a medical practitioner was 9 minutes in Type 3 EDs and 16 minutes in Type 1 EDs. During the same period, 95 percent of patients were triaged within 45 minutes in Type 3 EDs and 1 hour and 16 minutes in Type 1 EDs.

Treatment started within 2 hours of triage

The draft Ministerial target states that at least 80% of patients should have commenced treatment within two hours of triage by a medical practitioner. Performance declined in the years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, before increasing to meet the target in 2020/21, and subsquently declining again to below pre-pandemic levels.

Figure 17: Percentage of patients commencing treatment within 2 hours of triage (2014/15 - 2025/26)

This figure presents the percentage of patients who commenced treatment at an emergency department within two hours of being triaged by a medical practitioner. The red horizontal line indicates the target of 80%.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020/21, the percentage of patients commencing treatment within 2 hours of being triaged at an ED decreased from 70.5% to 57.5% in 2025/26.

Figure 18: Percentage of patients commencing treatment within 2 hours of triage, by HSC Trust (2025/26)

This chart presents performance against the target to commence treating at least 80% of patients within 2 hours of triage by a medical practitioner at an emergency department.

During 2025/26, almost 3 in 5 (57.5%) patients attending EDs commenced their treatment within 2 hours of being triaged.

The South Eastern HSC Trust reported the highest percentage of attendances who commenced their treatment within 2 hours of being triaged (61.4%), 60.4% in the Western HSC Trust, 56.7% in the Southern HSC Trust, 54.8% in the Northern HSC Trust, and 54.4% in the Northern HSC Trust.

Figure 19: Percentage of patients commencing treatment within 2 hours of triage, by department type (2025/26)

This figure presents performance against the target to commence treating 80% of patients within 2 hours of being triaged by a medical practitioner, by emergency department type.

Over half (52.3%) of patients attending Type 1 EDs commenced treatment within 2 hours of being triaged, compared with 81.9% at Type 3 EDs.

Waiting time from triage to start of treatment

The time taken to start a patient’s treatment refers to the time from when a patient has been triaged until the start of their definitive treatment by a decision-making clinician.

Figure 20: Time from triage to treatment (2021/22 - 2025/26)

This figure shows the median and the 95th percentile length of time patients waited for their treatment to start following triage (initial assessment) by a medical practitioner.

The median waiting time from triage to start of treatment was 1 hour and 30 minutes in 2025/26, 29 minutes longer than the time in 2021/22 (1 hour and 1 minute), and 13 minutes longer than in 2024/25 (1 hour and 17 minutes).

The 95th percentile wait has increased every year since 2021/22 and was 8 hours and 30 minutes in 2025/26.

Figure 21: Time from triage to treatment, by HSC Trust (2025/26)

The figure below details the median and 95th percentiles for the length of time patients waited for their treatment to start following triage (initial assessment) by a medical practitioner.

The median waiting time from triage to start of treatment in 2025/26 was lowest in the Western HSC Trust (1 hour and 11 minutes) and highest in the Belfast HSC Trust and Northern HSC Trust (1 hour and 42 minutes).

During 2025/26, 95 percent commenced treatment within 7 hours and 24 minutes of triage in the Northern HSC Trust, compared with 10 hours and 37 minutes in the Southern HSC Trust.

Figure 22: Time from triage to treatment, by department type (2025/26)

The figure below details the median and 95th percentiles for the length of time patients waited for their treatment to start following triage (initial assessment) by a medical practitioner, by department type.

The median waiting time from triage to start of treatment in 2025/26 was shortest at Type 3 EDs (32 minutes) and longest at Type 1 EDs (1 hour and 48 minutes).

During 2025/26, 95 percent of patients commenced their treatment within 3 hours and 55 minutes at Type 3 EDs, compared with 9 hours and 6 minutes at Type 1 EDs.

Time spent in an emergency department for admitted patients

The total time spent in ED from arrival to admission to hospital is presented in this section. Patients requiring admission to hospital are typically of higher acuity and experience longer waits than those who are able to be discharged home, for this reason the total time spent in ED is presented separately for patients who are admitted and for those who are discharged home.

Figure 23: Total time spent in an emergency department for those admitted to hospital (2021/22 - 2025/26)

The figure shows the median and the 95th percentile total time spent in an emergency department for those who were admitted to hospital, for each of the last five years.

The median time spent in EDs for patients admitted to hospital was 14 hours and 9 minutes in 2025/26, 3 hours and 54 minutes longer than in 2021/22 (10 hours and 15 minutes).

During 2025/26, 95 percent of patients were admitted to hospital within 58 hours and 12 minutes of their arrival, 23 hours longer than in 2021/22 (35 hours and 12 minutes).

Table 9: Total time spent in an emergency department for those admitted to hospital, by HSC Trust (2025/26)

This table shows the median and the 95th percentile total time spent in an emergency department from arrival to admission, by HSC Trust.

HSC Trust Median (HH:MM) 95th Percentile (HH:MM)
Belfast 11:36 34:14
Northern 15:53 77:37
South Eastern 14:51 49:09
Southern 15:28 55:53
Western 18:40 83:13
Northern Ireland 14:09 58:12

The Belfast HSC Trust reported the shortest median waiting time (11 hours and 36 minutes) for patients admitted to hospital in 2025/26, whilst the Western HSC Trust reported the longest (18 hours and 40 minutes).

During 2025/26, the time within which 95 percent of patients were admitted to hospital was shortest in the Belfast HSC Trust (34 hours and 14 minutes), whilst the longest was 83 hours and 13 minutes in the Western HSC Trust.

Figure 24: Total time spent in an emergency department for those admitted to hospital, by department Type (2025/26)

This figure shows the median and the 95th percentile total time spent in an emergency department from arrival to admission to hospital, by department type.

Type 1 EDs reported the longest median waiting time (14 hours and 29 minutes) for patients admitted to hospital in 2025/26, compared with 6 hours and 24 minutes at Type 3 EDs.

During 2025/26, 95 percent of patients were admitted to hospital within 25 hours and 39 minutes at Type 3 EDs and 58 hours and 51 minutes at Type 1 EDs.

Time spent in an emergency department for patients discharged

Patients who are of lower acuity and do not require admission to hospital typically spend less time in ED from arrival to discharge. Often these patients can avail of urgent care services in Type 3 EDs and avoid longer waits typically associated with attendances at Type 1 EDs.

Figure 25: Total time spent in an emergency department for those discharged home (2021/22 - 2025/26)

This figure shows the median and the 95th percentile total time patients spent in an emergency department for those discharged home, for each of the last five years.

The median time spent in ED for patients discharged home was 4 hours in 2025/26, 59 minutes longer than 2021/22 (3 hours and 1 minute).

During 2025/26, 95 percent of patients were discharged (not admitted) within 16 hours and 46 minutes, 6 hours and 21 minutes longer than in 2021/22 (10 hours and 25 minutes).

Table 10: Total time spent in an emergency department for those discharged home, by HSC Trust (2025/26)

This table shows the median and the 95th percentile total time spent in an emergency department from arrival to discharge, by HSC Trust.

HSC Trust Median (HH:MM) 95th Percentile (HH:MM)
Belfast 04:43 16:28
Northern 04:19 17:58
South Eastern 03:18 14:28
Southern 03:53 18:04
Western 03:30 18:25
Northern Ireland 04:00 16:46

The South Eastern HSC Trust reported the shortest median waiting time (3 hours and 18 minutes) for patients discharged home in 2025/26, whilst the Belfast HSC Trust reported the longest (4 hours and 43 minutes).

During 2025/26, the time within which 95 percent of patients were discharged was shortest in the South Eastern HSC Trust (14 hours and 28 minutes), whilst the longest was 18 hours and 25 minutes in the Western HSC Trust.

Figure 26: Total time spent in an emergency department for those discharged home, by department type (2025/26)

This figure shows the median and the 95th percentile time spent in an emergency department from arrival to discharge home, by department type

Type 1 EDs reported the highest median waiting time (5 hours and 3 minutes) for patients not admitted to hospital in 2025/26, compared with 1 hour and 32 minutes at Type 3 EDs.

During 2025/26, 95 percent of patients were discharged home within 6 hours and 18 minutes at Type 3 EDs and 19 hours and 15 minutes at Type 1 EDs.

Northern Ireland Ambulance Service Statistics

Emergency calls, incidents and response times

Calls and incidences

  • This section reports on the number of calls answered and the number of incidences responded to by the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS).

  • Calls received are those presented to switchboard on 999 and 112 emergency lines, and calls through other numbers, such as Police, Fire or Health Care Professionals (HCPs) calling direct line numbers (not 999), even where an incident is not created. It does not include calls abandoned by the caller before being answered by NIAS.

  • Not all incidents that NIAS responds to are attended by a vehicle, and some calls may be triaged over the phone and redirected to another service. In addition to this, an incident can be attended by a vehicle, but the patient may be treated at the scene and not transported to an ED.

  • The number of incidents responded to by NIAS will be lower than the number of calls, as a single incident may have multiple callers contacting NIAS to report the incident.

Notes

  • Please note, the NIAS now use the term ‘Health and Social Care (HSC) Trust’ in place of the term ‘Local Commissioning Group (LCG)’ which appears in previous publications. This is an update in terms of reference only, there has been no change to any service provision.

  • Note that until further notice, these statistics are treated as ‘official statistics in development’.

Guidance

Figure 27: Number of calls answered and incidents responded to by NIAS (2021/22 - 2025/26)

This figure shows the number of emergency calls answered and incidents responded to by the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS). Note that multiple calls may relate to one incident.

Between 2021/22 and 2025/26, the number of emergency calls to the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) increased by 14,846 (6.6%), from 226,068 to 240,914. Over the same period, the number of incidents that NIAS responded to decreased by 22,202 (11.1%), from 199,768 to 177,566.

Table 11: Calls received and incidents responded to, by HSC Trust (2025/26)

This table shows the number and percentage of calls received by NIAS, and the number and percentage of incidents responded to, by HSC Trust. Note that multiple calls may relate to one incident.

Metric Belfast Northern South Eastern Southern Western Northern Ireland
Number of calls received 56,752 56,699 46,144 43,954 37,365 240,914
Percentage of calls received 23.6% 23.5% 19.2% 18.2% 15.5% 100%
Number of incidents responded to 38,723 44,301 31,842 31,581 31,119 177,566
Percentage of incidents responded to 21.8% 24.9% 17.9% 17.8% 17.5% 100%

The Belfast HSC Trust had the highest number of emergency calls in 2025/26 (56,752), whilst the Northern HSC Trust had the highest number of incidents responded to in 2025/26 (44,301).

Incident response times by category of call

Category of call

  1. Category 1 Call – Presenting conditions 999 Immediately life threatening. There are two sub-categories:

    • C1 refers to the time it takes for a response to arrive at the scene.
    • C1T refers to the time it takes for the vehicle that transports the patient to arrive at the scene, for example the timer clock would not stop if a car response arrived first, but would stop when the ambulance which transports the patient arrives at the scene.

  2. Category 2 Call – Presenting conditions which are 999 Emergency – potentially serious incidents.

  3. Category 3 Call – Presenting conditions which are defined as an Urgent Problem.

  4. Category 4 Call – Presenting conditions which are defined as a Less Urgent Problem.

Notes

Calls are categorised based on their urgency and target response times. Two aspects of the response time are reported:
- Mean response time
- 90th percentile (time below which 90% of calls were responded to)

Guidance

Following the implementation of a new administrative system within the NIAS, DoH require time to gain a better understanding of the NIAS procedures and quality output from this new data source.

Until this exercise can be completed, data sourced from the NIAS are considered to be “official statistics in development”.

For further information on the revised Clinical Response Model, guidance is available at the link below:
Emergency Care Activity Returns and Guidance

Incident response times provide information on ambulance response times for each call category and are calculated from emergency incidents where a response resource was dispatched and attended an incident.

Category 1 call response times

Category 1 calls are defined as 999 immediately life threatening.

Figure 28: Number of category 1 calls, by month (2021/22 - 2025/26)

This figure presents the number of category 1 calls responded to by the NIAS during each month since April 2021.

During 2025/26, The highest number of category 1 calls responded to was in December 2025 (1,914).

Figure 29: Mean and 90th percentile category 1 call response times, by month (2025/26)

This figure presents the mean, 90th percentile and target response time for category 1 calls responded to by the NIAS during 2025/26, by month.

The mean target response time for category 1 calls is 8 minutes and the 90th percentile target response time is 15 minutes.

The target response times were not achieved by the NIAS in any month during 2025/26.

The shortest mean response time for category 1 calls was reported in April 2025 (10 minutes 36 seconds), whilst the longest mean response time was in January 2026 (13 minutes 1 seconds).

The shortest 90th percentile response time for category 1 calls responded to was in April 2025 (20 minutes 0 seconds), whilst the longest 90th percentile response time was in January 2026 (25 minutes 38 seconds).

Table 12: Mean and 90th percentile category 1 call response times, by HSC Trust (2025/26)

This table presents the mean and 90th percentile response times for category 1 calls in 2025/26, by HSC Trust.

HSC Trust Mean response time (MM:SS) 90th percentile response time (MM:SS)
Belfast 08:27 14:12
Northern 13:34 25:05
South Eastern 13:55 26:16
Southern 14:06 26:33
Western 11:27 22:49
Northern Ireland 12:03 23:16

During 2025/26, the mean target (8 minutes) was was not achieved by any HSC Trust, whilst the 90th percentile was target (15 minutes) was was only achieved by the Belfast HSC Trust.

The overall mean response time in Northern Ireland was above the target at 12 minutes 3 seconds and the 90th percentile was also above the target at 23 minutes 16 seconds.

Category C1T call response times

Category C1T calls refer to 999 Immediately life threatening which require a vehicle that transports a patient, to arrive on the scene.

Figure 30: Number of category 1T calls, by month (2021/22 - 2025/26)

This figure presents the number of category 1T calls responded to by the NIAS during each month from April 2021.

During 2025/26, there were 14,433 C1T calls responded to, 3,017 more than in 2024/25 (11,416).

The highest number of C1T calls responded to in 2025/26 was in December 2025 (1,483).

Figure 31: Mean and 90th percentile category 1T call response times, by month (2025/26)

This figure presents the mean, 90th percentile and target response time for category 1T calls responded to by the NIAS during 2025/26, by month.

The mean target response time for category 1T calls is 19 minutes and the 90th percentile target response time is 30 minutes.

The category 1T target response times were achieved by the NIAS in every month during 2025/26

The shortest mean response time for category 1T calls was reported in March 2026 (13 minutes 16 seconds), whilst the longest mean response time was in February 2026 (16 minutes 11 seconds).

The shortest 90th percentile response time for category 1T calls was reported in July 2025 (25 minutes 59 seconds), whilst the longest 90th percentile response time was in January 2026 (29 minutes 18 seconds).

Table 13: Mean and 90th percentile category 1T call response times, by HSC Trust (2025/26)

This table presents the mean and 90th percentile response times for category 1T calls in 2025/26, by HSC Trust.

HSC Trust Mean response time (MM:SS) 90th percentile response time (MM:SS)
Belfast 10:13 16:53
Northern 15:20 28:33
South Eastern 17:54 31:18
Southern 17:44 31:47
Western 14:29 28:12
Northern Ireland 14:45 27:45

During 2025/26, the overall mean response time in Northern Ireland was below the 19 minutes target at 14 minutes 45 seconds and the 90th percentile was below the 30 minutes target at 27 minutes 45 seconds.

Category 2 Calls and Response Times

Category 2 calls are defined as 999 Emergency calls which are potentially serious incidents.

Figure 32: Number of category 2 calls, by month (2021/22 - 2025/26)

This figure presents the number of category 2 calls responded to by the NIAS during each month from April 2021.

During 2025/26, there were 85,705 category 2 calls responded to, 876 less than in 2024/25 (86,581).

The highest number of category 2 calls during 2025/26 was in December 2025 (7,530).

Figure 33: Mean and 90th percentile category 2 call response times, by month (2025/26)

This figure presents the mean, 90th percentile and target response time for category 2 calls responded to by the NIAS during 2025/26, by month.

The mean target for category 2 calls is 18 minutes and the 90th percentile target is 40 minutes.

The category 2 target response times were not achieved by the NIAS in any month during 2025/26.

The shortest mean response time for category 2 calls was reported in April 2025 (53 minutes 7 seconds), whilst the longest mean response time was in January 2026 (2 hours 21 minutes 4 seconds).

The shortest 90th percentile response time for category 2 calls was reported in April 2025 (1 hour 59 minutes 59 seconds), whilst the longest 90th percentile response time was in January 2026 (5 hours 27 minutes 0 seconds).

Table 14: Mean and 90th percentile category 2 call response times, by HSC Trust (2025/26)

This table presents the mean and 90th percentile response times for category 2 calls in 2025/26, by HSC Trust.

HSC Trust Mean response time (HH:MM) 90th percentile response time (HH:MM)
Belfast 1:36:33 3:47:22
Northern 1:15:24 2:49:57
South Eastern 1:51:24 4:06:00
Southern 1:20:13 3:00:35
Western 0:44:19 1:39:35
Northern Ireland 1:21:29 3:06:44

During 2025/26, the mean target (18 minutes) and the 90th percentile (40 minutes) were not achieved by any HSC Trust.

Category 3 Calls and Response Times

Category 3 calls are defined as Urgent Problem.

Figure 34: Number of category 3 calls, by month (2021/22 - 2025/26)

This figure presents the number of category 3 calls responded to by the NIAS during each month from April 2021.

During 2025/26, there were 26,864 category 3 calls responded to, 2,028 less than in 2024/25 (28,892).

The highest number of category 3 calls during 2025/26 was in July 2025 (2,544).

Figure 35: Mean and 90th percentile category 3 call response times, by month (2025/26)

This figure presents the mean, 90th percentile and target response time for category 3 calls responded to by the NIAS during 2025/26, by month.

The Category 3 calls have no mean target time, however the 90th percentile target is 2 hours.

The 90th percentile response time in 2025/26 was 8 hours 21 minutes 38 seconds. Furthermore, the target was not achieved in any month in 2025/26.

During 2025/26, the shortest 90th percentile response time for category 3 calls was in April 2025 (5 hours 1 minutes 47 seconds), whilst the longest 90th percentile response time was in January 2026 (17 hours 8 minutes 14 seconds).

Category 4 Calls and Response Times

Category 4 calls are defined as a Less Urgent Problem.

During 2025/26, there were 79 category 4 calls, 2 less than in 2024/25 (81).

The number of category 4 incidents decreased in each month during 2025/26 compared with 2024/25. The highest number of category 4 calls was in June 2025 (13).

The number of category 4 calls responded to by the NIAS is a very low number, therefore, additional analysis is not available in this report.

To view category 4 incident response times please see Tables 27, 28 and 29 in the accompanying downloadable tables Excel file.

Accredited Official Statistics

Accredited Official Statistics are official statistics that have been independently reviewed by Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) and confirmed to comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics. Producers of accredited official statistics are legally required to ensure they maintain compliance with the Code. Accredited official statistics are called Accredited Official Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.

These accredited official statistics were independently reviewed by OSR in 2012 in the Assessment of Northern Ireland Hospital Statistics: Emergency Care, with ‘accreditation confirmed’ in June 2013. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice and should be labelled Accredited Official Statistics (or ‘accredited official statistics’).

Our statistical practice is regulated by OSR. They set the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to. You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR Website.

The statistics within this publication has been assessed to the standard of Accredited Official Statistics, however during implementation and stabilisation of the change of data source to the encompass system, they are considered to be ‘official statistics in development’ which are a subset of Official Statistics in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics. While caution must be exercised when using these figures, they are a meaningful representation of what they measure and are of sufficient quality for publication and use.

Following the implementation of a new administrative system within the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS), DoH require time to gain a better understanding of the NIAS procedures and quality output from this new data source. Until this exercise can be completed, data sourced from the NIAS are considered to be “official statistics in development”.

Contact Details

Published by: Hospital Waits Information Branch, Information & Analysis Directorate

Email: statistics@health-ni.gov.uk

Accessibility contact

Please contact Dissemination Branch for assistance with accessibility requirements or alternative formats. Contact details are:

Email:

Telephone: +44 (0)300 200 7836

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