Attendances at urgent and emergency care services increase by almost 10% over five years
Date published:
New accredited official statistics published today by NISRA statisticians in the Department of Health (DoH) present information on urgent and emergency care services in Northern Ireland during 2025/26.
Key findings
Between April 2025 and March 2026:
- There were 820,443 attendances at urgent and emergency care services in Northern Ireland, 18,974 (2.4%) more than in 2024/25 and 71,861 (9.6%) more than five years ago.
- The Phone First service answered 178,846 calls, of which, 117,003 (65.4%) resulted in the patient being referred to an emergency department.
- 43.3% of patients attending an emergency department were treated and discharged or admitted within four hours. This was down from 45.7% in 2024/25 and 54.8% five years ago.
- 139,108 patients (17.3%) spent more than 12 hours in an emergency department, compared with 133,285 (17.1%) in 2024/25 and 78,969 (10.9%) five years ago.
- Some 57.5% of patients attending emergency departments commenced treatment within two hours of being triaged, down from 61.7% in 2024/25.
- The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) answered 240,914 calls and attended 177,566 incidents.
About this publication
This statistical release presents annual information on Phone First and activity and attendances at emergency departments across the five Health and Social Care Trusts in Northern Ireland, including the time spent in emergency departments. It also reports on activity of the NIAS including calls received, incidents and response times.
Further information
Read the full report: Northern Ireland hospital statistics: urgent and emergency care
View data tables and background information: Hospital statistics: emergency care activity 2025/26 | Department of Health