St Bartholomew's Hospital

Barts Cancer Centre has an international reputation for treating both common and rare cancers.

The Centre, which is the second biggest of its kind in London, provides cancer services to more than 1.5 million people from across east London, the south and east of England. 

It’s also a tertiary referral centre for some specialist national services.

As well as offering the latest minimally invasive surgical procedures, cancer drugs, stem cell and gene therapies, Barts Cancer Centre has an impressive array of cutting-edge imaging, radiotherapy and radio surgery technology. 

Patients at Barts Cancer Centre are offered access to leading research and clinical trials.

St Bartholomew’s Hospital is a Cancer Research UK Centre of Excellence and National Institute for Health Research Cardiovascular Biomedical Research Centre.

St Bartholomew's Hospital address

St Bartholomew's Hospital 
West Smithfield 
London 
EC1A 7BE

Switchboard telephone number

0203 416 5000

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 0203 465 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 or through the travel information below.

TfL can 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-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.

Barbican and Farringdon are served by the Hammersmith and City Line, Metropolitan Line and Circle Line. Blackfriars is served by the Circle line and District Line. Moorgate is served by the Northern Line. St Paul's is served by the Central Line.

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 this is possible.

If you do need to drive, the Rotunda multi-storey public car park is close to the hospital on West Smithfield, which is run by the City of London. 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 charging zone. All patients and visitors who drive to the hospital are therefore 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 charging website.

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

The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ)

From 8 April 2019 the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) will operate in central London, 24 hours a day, every day of the year, in the same area as the Congestion Charging Zone.

If you drive to St Bartholomew's Hospital, use Transport for London’s online vehicle checker to see if you will be affected. Visit the Transport for London website.

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.

The hospital appears on TfL’s Local Cycling Guide 1, 7 and 14. You can order this guide for free by calling 0343 222 1234.

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)

State-of-the-art facilities

The hospital’s state-of-the-art facilities includes 23 wards, 10 theatres, 10 catheter labs, a 306 inpatient bed capacity with 55 critical care beds and accommodation for 135 day cases, all 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.

If you do not wish this to happen, please inform a member of staff.

Shops

A shop can be found on the ground floor of the King George V building, which sells toiletries, confectionery, newspapers and magazines, cards and hospital souvenirs.

The shop is open Monday-Friday, 8.30am-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

There are a wide range of meals and snacks at the hospital restaurant on the first floor of the catering building, behind the East Wing.

The restaurant is from open 11.45am-3pm, Monday-Friday.

Light refreshments are available from the coffee shop, open from 7.30am-4pm, Monday-Friday, on the ground floor of the same building.

There is a restaurant on the second floor of the King George V building, which serves hot food from 12pm-2.30pm and 5pm-6.30pm, Monday to Sunday. Cold snacks are served every day from 2.30pm-5pm.

There are also takeaway coffee shops in the basement of the King George V building and on the ground floor of the West Wing.

Wifi

Free wifi is available throughout the hospital. There’s no time limit on use, and capacity has been expanded in order to ensure continuous access for as many users as possible.

Please note that the wifi cannot support streaming movies or high-intensity computer games.

The wifi can be accessed by completing the following steps:

• Connect to the NHS wifi wireless network
• Open your web browser
• From the welcome page, accept the terms and conditions
• Browse the internet and send and receive emails

If you encounter any problems, please call the 24/7 helpdesk on 0344 848 9555.

St Bartholomew’s Hospital Museum and Archives 

Set in the historic North Wing of St Bartholomew’s Hospital, the Museum tells the story of this renowned institution, celebrates its achievements and explains its place in history.

The archives, also based in the North Wing, hold documents dating back to 1137, available for research.

Find out more about the museum and archives at St Bartholomew’s Hospital.

Surgical Admissions Unit: single point of contact

The single point of contact office (SPOC) for patients who need to contact us about their heart surgery is 0203 465 5655.

For patients who need to contact us about their lung procedure or surgery, please call 0203 465 6066.

Please be aware, your call may go through to an answerphone. However, we will return your call as quickly as possible.

Cardiology: consultant contact details