Emergency Rooms in France: Patients Spend an Average of 3 Hours and 10 Minutes Before Treatment

Paris – 02.06.2026: The average waiting time in French emergency rooms reached a new high in 2023. A study by the French Ministry of Health found that patients wait on average 3 hours and 10 minutes before the start of medical treatment. This represents an increase of about one hour compared to data from 2013.

The study not only describes the total duration until treatment but also provides detailed insights into the individual phases of the stay. Half of the patients wait less than 8 minutes for an initial assessment, the so-called triage. After this assessment, the actual start of treatment takes on average less than 16 minutes. Overall, the time between registration and start of treatment is less than 30 minutes for half of the patients. However, around 10 percent of emergency patients experience waiting times of more than two hours.

The length of stay varies significantly depending on the course of treatment. Patients discharged home after treatment remain in the emergency area on average 2 hours and 30 minutes. Significantly longer is the length of stay for those who are admitted as inpatients: their average stay exceeds five hours. The situation is particularly problematic for patients transferred to short-stay observation units, where the average length of stay has now reached nearly 15 hours.

The study identifies several causes for the increasing waiting times. A key role is played by structural problems in the French healthcare system. This especially includes a shortage of general practitioners, which leads many patients to use emergency rooms as their first point of contact for medical complaints, even when they are not acute. Also, the rising number of older patients, who often have more complex health issues, contributes to longer stays. The staffing and infrastructural overload of emergency rooms thus leads to longer waiting times and complicates timely care.

The growing waiting times in emergency rooms raise questions about care safety and quality. Longer waits can negatively affect treatment outcomes, especially in critical cases. Experts therefore call for improvements in organization and stronger integration of outpatient and inpatient care to reduce pressure on emergency services. At the same time, more resources must be provided to meet rising demands. The available data illustrate the challenges the French healthcare system currently faces.

The study results have been covered by various media, including the websites of Drees and the Ministry of Health as well as reports in major French daily newspapers. They provide an important basis for policy decisions aimed at improving emergency care and increasing patient satisfaction.