St Bartholomew's Hospital

St Bartholomew's is an internationally renowned hospital in the City of London, close to St Paul’s cathedral. It is a centre of excellence for both cardiac and cancer care.

Barts Heart Centre is Europe’s largest specialised cardiac service.

Barts Cancer Centre has a global reputation for treating common and rare cancers.

The hospital provides a number of additional specialist services including ECMO, endocrinology, thoracics and fertility.

There is no A&E at St Bartholomew's Hospital. Instead, please go to University College Hospital near Euston or The Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel.

St Bartholomew's will be 900 years old in 2023. Find out how we plan to celebrate this special anniversary.

Our hospital is rated 'good' by the Care Quality Commission.

Visiting and attending St Bartholomew’s Hospital with a loved one

Please note this information is relevant as of 31.12.2021 but is subject to change.

The health, safety and wellbeing of our patients, communities and staff continues to be our top priority. To ensure this, and with the continued spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, we have made the difficult decision to no longer allow visitors to our hospitals, with certain exceptions (see below), to limit the risk of transmission of the virus.

This guidance is expected to be in place until the end of January 2022, but please keep checking this page for the latest visiting guidance.

We are aware of how difficult it is and has been for families to visit their loved ones during the pandemic, and we appreciate your patience. Our staff are working hard to keep everyone safe and so we ask that you treat them with kindness and respect when visiting our hospital.

Your safety when visiting our hospital

Everyone coming to our hospital to visit or attend an appointment with a loved one must:

Wear a surgical face mask unless you have a medical exemption or are under 11 years old. Other face coverings are not permitted. When you arrive at our hospital you will be provided with a surgical mask to wear at all times.
Use the hand gel provided
Wash your hands regularly
Maintain social distancing

We are also asking anyone who plans on visiting our hospital to do a lateral flow test before they come and to only continue with their visit if the test is negative.

You may be asked to provide proof of your negative lateral flow test when you arrive at the hospital, so please be prepared to do so. Items accepted as proof of a negative lateral flow are:

A picture of your negative lateral flow test, with the day’s date
An email from gov.uk showing a negative lateral flow test has been registered
The physical negative lateral flow test cassette itself

Please note, lateral flow tests will not be available at any of our hospitals for visitors do to on arrival. These can be ordered free from the gov.uk website (search for lateral flow on Google), or by calling 119.

What to expect on arrival when visiting or attending with a loved one

When you arrive at our hospital, it is likely you will be asked questions about why you’re visiting the hospital, who you are visiting and if you have any symptoms of Covid-19.

Please note, we are caring for Covid-19 patients in separate areas of our hospitals which will have the right infection prevention and control measures in place for them and to help protect you. You will be expected to follow all infection prevention and control measures outlined in each area of the hospital that you visit.

If you feel unwell or have Covid-19 symptoms

You must not visit our hospital if you have any Covid-19, cold or flu like symptoms, or if you feel unwell.

Booking a visit (exceptional circumstances only)

Visitors are required to arrange their visit in advance with the manager of the ward their loved one is on. If the visit is agreed, the ward manager will issue the visitor with the following:

Visiting permission letter OR a visiting permission letter for an end-of-life visit
AND visiting information

To speak to the ward, you can call the switchboard on 020 7377 7000 or click on the ward and department contact numbers drop down on this page.

On arrival to St Bartholomew’s Hospital, all visitors will need to enter via the main entrance (King George V). Visitors will need to provide a copy of the visitor permission letter, confirming that they have been approved for a visit on that specific date.

Our guidance for visiting inpatients (people staying in hospital)

With the continued spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, we have made the difficult decision to no longer allow visitors to people staying in our hospitals. The only exceptions to this are if the:

patient needs a familiar carer / parent / guardian / supporter / personal assistant (e.g. if the person has dementia or learning difficulties)
patient needs assistance with communication and / or to meet their health, emotional, religious or spiritual care needs (e.g. if the person has dementia or learning difficulties)
the visitor is the parent / guardian of a child (both parents / guardians are allowed)
person is receiving end-of-life care (see below)
person is having a baby at our hospital (see below)

Our guidance for visiting people receiving end-of-care

Patients receiving end-of-life care can have up to a maximum of four visitors in a day. Visitors are allowed to visit as often as required in agreement with the ward manager on a case by case basis.

Our guidance for attending outpatient appointments with a loved one

People attending for outpatient appointments can only bring a chaperone or carer if they need:

a familiar carer / parent / guardian / supporter / personal assistant (e.g. if they have learning disabilities)
assistance with communication and / or to meet their health, emotional, religious or spiritual care needs (e.g. if they have learning disabilities)
a parent / guardian with them

Bringing someone with you when you come to visit

Unfortunately, we can only allow one visitor per patient per day at our hospital in certain, exceptional circumstances (see above). We are unable to welcome children as visitors.

More information and keeping up to date

To help you keep in touch with how your family member is during long stays with us, we have a dedicated family contact centre – open Mon – Fri, 8am to 8pm. You can call them on 020 3465 6883.

Please note that the family contact centre service is only available for adult critical care unit (ACCU) patients.

Information for patients

If you have an appointment at one of our hospitals, please visit this page for information on what you need to do before attending.

Travelling to St Bartholomew's Hospital

West Smithfield
London
EC1A 7BE

Switchboard telephone number

020 7377 7000

The contact numbers and visiting hours for our wards can be found further down this page. If you are having trouble contacting a department, you can also try our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) on 020 3465 5919.

Getting here

St Bartholomew's Hospital is located in the City of London, close to St Paul’s Cathedral. You can travel to the hospital in a number of ways including on foot, by car, by bike or by public transport.

Plan your journey using the Transport for London (TfL) journey planner. TfL offer advice on planning a journey using an accessible route and can provide a mentor to come with you for your first few journeys to help you gain confidence and become an independent traveller. To find out more complete TfL’s online form.

By bus

The following buses stop outside or close to the hospital: 4, 8, 17, 25 (24 hour service), 45 46, 56, 63, 76, 100, 153, 172, 242 (24 hour service) and 521 (Mondays to Fridays only) as well as night buses N8, N63 and N76.

Low-floor wheelchair accessible buses run on all routes serving St Bartholomew's Hospital.

By tube

The closest underground stations are Barbican, Blackfriars, Farringdon, Moorgate and St Paul's. All stations are between 6 and 15 minutes walk from St Bartholomew's Hospital.

By train

The nearest National Rail stations are Blackfriars, Cannon Street, City Thameslink, Moorgate and Farringdon. All stations are between 6 and 15 minutes walk away. Liverpool Street station is a 17 minute walk or a short tube, bus or taxi ride away.

Freedom passes

The Older Persons Freedom Pass allows free travel across London and free local bus journeys nationally.

The Disabled Persons Freedom Pass allows free travel across London and free bus journeys nationally. You can use your pass on most journeys across London but there are a few exceptions to when and where you can use your card.

A 60+ London Oyster photocard allows you to travel free on public transport in London from the age of 60 until you qualify for a Freedom Pass. To be eligible for a 60+ London Oyster photocard, you must live in a London borough and be aged 60 or over.

To find out more about the above listed Freedom passes, visit the London Councils website.

By car or taxi

There is no public parking at the hospital so we encourage patients and visitors not to travel by car where possible.

If you do need to drive, the Rotunda multi-storey public car park is close to the hospital in West Smithfield. NCP Aldersgate multi-storey is also located close to the site.

St Bartholomew's Hospital operates a one-way system and allows for drop off and pick up with three designated laybys, with a maximum stay of 10-minutes. You can access the drop off point from Giltspur Street and exit onto King Edward Street.

Infopoints at the hospital allow you to make free calls to taxi companies and public transport information lines to arrange your journey home.

There is an infopoint located at the main entrance of the King George V building on King Edward Street. There are additional infopoints at the exit of Clinic 2, at the patient transport lounge by Clinic 3 and there will soon be a further infopoint by the discharge lounge outside Ward 4A.

Blue badge holders

There are a small number of parking bays for drivers with Blue Badges on site, these are accessed via Giltspur Street. As a patient or visitor, you may be aware aware of the redevelopment taking place at St Bartholomew’s Hospital.

Due to this redevelopment, several of the disabled parking bays located in Bartholomew Close have been taken out of use. We apologise for this inconvenience to our patients and visitors.

Drivers who are registered disabled and have a Blue Badge can also check where to park at on the City of London Corporation website.

Congestion Charge zone

St Bartholomew's Hospital is situated within the congestion charge zone. All patients and visitors who drive to the hospital are required to pay the charge, although there are some exemptions and discounts. These include:

those with disabilities who hold a blue badge
residents living within the congestion charging zone
drivers of alternative fuel vehicles

A full list of categories of drivers and vehicles eligible for exemptions and details of how to pay the charge can be found on the Transport for London congestion charge website.

To qualify for an exemption or discount, you must register with Transport for London.

Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ)

The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year, except Christmas Day (25 December). The zone now covers all areas within the North and South Circular Roads. The North Circular (A406) and South Circular (A205) roads are not in the zone.

Most vehicles need to meet the ULEZ emissions standards or you must pay a £12.50 daily charge to drive inside the zone:

Refunds of hospital transport costs

You may be able to claim a refund for the cost of your transport to hospital through the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS) if you:

are not eligible for patient transport services (PTS)
cannot afford the cost of travelling to hospital
cannot get a friend or relative to take you

Refer to Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS) for more information on who is eligible, what the conditions are and how you can access the scheme.

By bike

We encourage visitors, staff and patients living nearby to cycle to the hospital if possible. Cycle parking facilities are available around the hospital.

There are several cycle routes in the area surrounding the hospital including Cycle Superhighway 6 (CS6), which runs between Elephant and Castle and King's Cross.

A journey planner can be found on the London Cycling Campaign website. Routes are also available on popular travel apps and websites such as Google Maps, Apple Maps and Citymapper.

Santander cycles are available to hire and dock from near St Bartholomew's Hospital at:

West Smithfield Rotunda, Farringdon (outside the King Henry VIII Gatehouse Entrance)
King Edward Street, St Paul's (outside the King George V building entrance)

Our services

St Bartholomew's Hospital is home to a number of specialist services:

Cancer care provided at the Barts Cancer Centre
Cardiac care provided at the Barts Heart Centre
Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO)
Endocrinology
Fertility provided at the Centre for Reproductive Medicine
Thoracics

Our facilities

The hospital’s state-of-the-art facilities includes 23 wards, 10 theatres, 10 catheter labs, a 300+ inpatient bed capacity with 55 critical care beds and accommodation for 135 day cases, supported by more than 2,500 staff and partners.

The hospital has a spacious layout designed around the needs of patients and staff. Forty per cent of the beds are large en-suite single rooms; the remainder are spacious two and four bedded bays.

The environment is designed to reduce noise and the temperature is controlled by ventilated fresh air that is specially treated before it enters the building to reduce the risk of airborne infection.

St Bartholomew’s has received the Macmillan Quality and Environment Mark for chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Overnight accommodation

James Hora Home at The Royal London Hospital provides accommodation for relatives and carers of critical care and surgical patients. The home also accommodates patients who may find it difficult to make regular visits to St Bartholomew’s Hospital for treatment.

The home has space for up to 26 guests. Please speak to a member of the ward/clinic staff about a referral to stay in James Hora Home or contact them on 078 8055 3525.

Please note that direct bookings cannot be made.

Chaplaincy

Chaplains of many faiths are available to speak to all patients, relatives and carers. Information about your religious preference will be passed to the chaplaincy.

Shops

The Guild Shop can be found on the ground floor of the KGV building. It sells toiletries, confectionery, newspapers and magazines, cards and hospital souvenirs.

The shop is open Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 4pm.

The shop is run by volunteers from the Barts Guild. Opening hours may be subject to change.

Post box

A post box can be found at the Henry VIII Gatehouse entrance.

Restaurant and coffee shop

Light refreshments are available from the coffee shop in the basement of the KGV building. There is also a restaurant on the second floor of KGV, which serves hot food.

Wifi

Free wifi is available throughout the hospital. If you encounter any problems, please call the 24/7 helpdesk on 0344 848 9555.