Derriford Hospital
Plymouth · data via University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust · read recently
Time in department now
Primary source: University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust — published waiting times
About this department
Derriford Hospital is the largest hospital in the South West Peninsula, located in the Derriford area of Plymouth, Devon. Part of University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, the hospital is a major trauma centre for Devon, Cornwall, and the Isles of Scilly, serving a population of approximately 450,000 for local services and 2 million for specialist care. The Emergency Department handles over 100,000 attendances per year. Derriford is a teaching hospital with links to Plymouth University and is a major centre for neurosurgery, cardiothoracic surgery, and kidney transplantation. The hospital has approximately 900 beds.
Getting there & getting in touch
- Town / postcode
- Plymouth
- Run by
- University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust
- Service level
- Full A&E (Type 1 emergency department)
The last 24 hours at Derriford Hospital
Every reading we've collected, newest first. The bar shows each reading relative to the day's peak.
| Collected | Trend | Wait | Shift | Queue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| recently16:36 | 3 hr 7 min | ▲ 30m | — | |
| recently16:10 | 2 hr 37 min | ▼ 44m | — | |
| recently15:36 | 3 hr 21 min | ▲ 30m | — | |
| recently15:09 | 2 hr 51 min | ▲ 30m | — | |
| recently14:36 | 2 hr 21 min | ▲ 30m | — | |
| recently14:10 | 1 hr 51 min | ▲ 14m | — | |
| recently13:36 | 1 hr 37 min | ▲ 6m | — | |
| recently13:10 | 1 hr 31 min | ▼ 54m | — | |
| recently12:37 | 2 hr 25 min | ▲ 15m | — | |
| recently12:14 | 2 hr 10 min | ▼ 50m | — | |
| recently11:35 | 3 hr | ▼ 149m | — | |
| recently11:10 | 5 hr 29 min | ▼ 119m | — |
How this compares locally
Right now the reading here is 3 hr 7 min. The South West average sits near 1 hr 18 min. This department is running well above its neighbours — check the alternatives panel before setting off.
Not sure A&E is the right door? Read this first →Quick answers for Derriford Hospital
What's the current wait at Derriford Hospital?
The latest published reading is about 3 hr 7 min. That comes straight from the trust's own feed and shifts through the day — and remember triage decides the order patients are seen, so a genuinely urgent case never waits for the whole queue.
Is the A&E at Derriford Hospital open right now?
Opening hours here are: not confirmed — ring ahead. Outside those times, calling 111 will point you to the nearest open alternative.
Would somewhere other than Derriford Hospital treat me faster?
Quite possibly, if your problem isn't life-threatening. Urgent treatment centres and minor injuries units around Plymouth handle sprains, cuts, minor burns and simple fractures with far shorter queues. The nearby-departments panel on this page shows live figures for the closest options, and 111 can book timed slots at some of them.
Where exactly is Derriford Hospital?
It's in Plymouth. Pop your own postcode into our distance search to see how far it is from you compared with the other departments nearby.
When does this A&E tend to be calmest?
Across the UK the pattern is consistent: the lightest traffic is between roughly 6am and 9am, and the heaviest crunch lands on Monday mornings, weekday evenings, and Friday and Saturday nights. If your condition can safely wait for a quieter window, an early start usually pays off.
Could you be seen sooner?
Cumberland Centre UTC
0.1 km · UTC
Dartmoor Building UTC
0.1 km · UTC
Tavistock MIU
14.9 km · MIU
Liskeard MIU
25.5 km · MIU
Kingsbridge MIU
28.0 km · MIU
What the labels mean
Worth reading first
Don't wait on a webpage
If someone is seriously unwell — chest pain, stroke signs, heavy bleeding, struggling to breathe — call 999 immediately instead of comparing queues.