Choose Kingston Hospital
If your GP refers you to hospital, you are now able to choose to go anywhere in England where your care is funded by the NHS, allowing you to make a choice that suits your personal circumstances, giving you greater convenience and peace of mind.
The hospital is located close to Kingston town centre, with excellent transport links making the journey easier for patients and their visitors. We receive tremendous support from our community both through the thousands of cards and letters each year thanking our staff for their work and when we have called on them to help us with fundraising.
So, why choose Kingston Hospital?
Kingston Hospital is a district general hospital supporting 320,000 people in the surrounding area including the boroughs of Kingston, Richmond, Roehampton, Putney and East Elmbridge. Kingston Hospital's aim is to deliver the best possible care to our patients.
Sick people have been treated on this site since 1843 – that’s over 160 years. – when an infirmary was built on the site, then used as a workhouse, and it was renamed Kingston Infirmary in 1902. In 1920 it was renamed Kingston and District Hospital. In 1948, when the NHS was launched, the entire former workhouse site was given over to the hospital, and many of the original buildings were demolished.
We provide a full range of diagnostic and treatment services and have a national reputation for innovative developments in healthcare, particularly in 'patient-focused' care, maternity services, and day surgery.
The Trust was rated the best district general hospital in London by the independent Dr Foster in its 2009 Hospital Guide. We have a reputation for excellence in our emergency, surgical and maternity services. Our stroke service was rated A1 – the highest level – in 2009. Over 425,000 people chose to use Kingston Hospital in 2009.
We pride ourselves on providing high quality care in clean and pleasant surroundings. Our staff are caring and professional, putting patients at the heart of their work.
Staff at Kingston Hospital are passionate about infection control. We take infection control, hygiene and cleanliness very seriously. Over the past few years we have invested in more and better isolation facilities and more single rooms, as well as carrying out regular deep and high cleaning alongside out rigorous daily cleaning schedule. In 2009 staff here focussed on infection control and successfully reduced rates for healthcare acquired infections. As a result, MRSA and Clostridium difficile (C. diff), continue to reduce significantly. During 2008–09, we achieved a reduction of 87% in MRSA rates and had one of the lowest rates of MRSA infection for an acute Trust in England. This is a huge achievement and something that we are very proud of as we know how important this is to our patients, their visitors and our staff. Patients and their visitors can play an important part in helping us to keep our infection rates low by using the gels stationed around the hospitals, by washing their hands.
Esher Wing was built in the 1970s. In June 2007, the Trust opened a new Surgical Centre with a new 100 bedded facility, housing surgical and gynaecology wards. The centre also houses the physiotherapy department, education centre and the staff and visitor restaurant. More recently, in June 2008, the Trust opened the Sir William RousUnit, for those with cancer or concerned they might have cancer. The Unit is run in partnership between, Kingston Hospital, The Royal Marsden Hospital and Macmillan Cancer Support so as to provide the best possible care for patients with cancer.
Making the choice
Making the choice is easy. Your GP can book your hospital appointment from the GP Surgery, using our Choose and Book sytem, an electronic system to book your appointment for a convenient time for you whilst you are at the surgery.
