About Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust delivers acute health services to the communities in Gloucestershire and surrounding counties. Our services are provided from Cheltenham General, Delancey and Gloucestershire Royal hospitals, and increasingly we provide services from community hospitals across Gloucestershire and beyond.

We are proud of the services we provide and some, such as our ophthalmology service are award winning and recognised nationally and internationally. Our oncology service is the hub for the 3 Counties Cancer Network and is a centre of excellence.

On this website, you will find up-to-date information on who we are, what we offer and where we offer it. You can find out more about our wards and departments, as well as read all about our successes.

We do hope you find the information you are looking for and if you have any comments or would like to make a suggestion, please use our feedback form.

Advice for students and researchers

This website is designed to give as much information as possible about the Trust, its people and its services. Facts and statistics that are often requested by students and researchers are also available to view on this site.

In the exceptional circumstance that you do not find what you are looking for, please contact the Trust either by completing an Online request form or by writing to:

Trust Freedom of Information Lead
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Management Suite, Alexandra House
Cheltenham General Hospital
Sandford Road
Cheltenham
GL53 7AN

Further information can be found here on the Trust Freedom of Information Pages

As one of the first Foundation Trusts in the country, Gloucestershire Hospitals is proud of its excellent record in achieving better treatment for patients. The Trust has consistently achieved the top quality rating of three stars since it was formed in 2002, and it achieved above average and good ratings in all areas.

The Trust runs Cheltenham General and Gloucestershire Royal Hospitals and also Delancey Assessment and Rehabilitation Hospital in Cheltenham. Our doctors and nurses also see patients at clinics in all of the smaller hospitals across the county.

Our hospitals are district general hospitals with a great tradition of providing high quality hospital services; some specialist departments are concentrated at either Cheltenham General or Gloucestershire Royal hospitals, so that we can make the best use of the expertise and specialist equipment needed.

As a large acute Trust, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust attracts staff in all clinical disciplines. It is able to offer an excellent career structure, opportunities for flexible working and a wide range of services to support staff.

The Trust places a great emphasis on improving patient access to services and reducing visits to hospital where possible through the provision of "one-stop clinics" where all tests, consultations and treatments are provided with only one visit to hospital.

The Trust provides opportunities for the public to be involved through its Patients and Public Involvement Team. Please visit the Patient and Public Involvement section of the website for further information.

Both hospitals have 24 hour Emergency Departments.

The Trust obtained complete Smoke-Free status (throughout its grounds as well as buildings) in March 2006.

Fact File

Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust employs more than 6000 staff including 722 medical staff, 1988 Nursing staff, 1136 therapists/Scientific staff and 2393 ancillary, administrative and support staff Over the course of a year the average activity for the Trust is more than

16,000 Planned Inpatient Admissions

50,000 Emergency Inpatient Admissions

50,000 Day Case Admissions

400,000 Consultant OP attendances

90,000 A & E attendances at Cheltenham General and Gloucestershire Royal Hospitals

The Trust serves a population or around 500,000

Cheltenham General Hospital

Specialist services sited at Cheltenham General are Ophthalmology where the award winning cataract team are based, treating patients from across the county and beyond.

The Diabetic Eye Screening Unit has also won awards for its groundbreaking ophthalmology services in which the mobile screening unit aims to see everyone in the county with diabetes, with the ultimate goal of saving sight, this was the first service of its kind in the country, and is now being replicated across the country.

Cheltenham General Hospital is the hub of the 3 Counties Cancer Network with the specialist Oncology Centre that is a centre of excellence for Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and parts of Wales.

Cardiac Angiography and Angioplasty is a recently developed service at Cheltenham General, which means that most heart patients no longer have to travel to Bristol or Oxford for these procedures.

PALS
At Cheltenham General Hospital there is a Patient Advice and Liaison Service office situated in the main hospital corridor, opposite the hospital's Blue Spa Café. The PALS staff are available to give information, advice and support to patients and their families and friends about treatment and other issues or worries they may have. The PALS Office can be contacted on Tel: 08454 223268.

Refreshments
Hot meals and snacks are available in two dining areas at Cheltenham General Hospital. The Blue Spa Café is situated in the hospital's main corridor, inside the main entrance on Sandford Road. It is open 7 days a week, 7:30am - 7:30pm, (closing for an hour on Fridays between 2:30pm and 3:30pm); the Garden Restaurant is situated in a calm and pleasant conservatory-style café on the ground floor of the St Paul's Maternity Wing. Opening hours are 9am - 3:30pm Monday to Friday.

Gloucestershire Royal Hospital

Gloucestershire Royal Hospital has recently benefited from major improvements including investment of £50 million. In 2005 new buildings opened, housing state-of-the-art departments and wards. Included within the new buildings are the new outpatients departments, children's centre, therapies unit, new endoscopy suite, assessment and rehabilitation centre, cardiology wards and coronary care unit, medical admissions unit and a large airy atrium where you can find a café, shop, comfortable waiting areas and health Information Room - for patients and visitors.

Specialist services found at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital are renal and haemo dialysis, paediatric oncology, inpatients neurology, rheumatology, dermatology and ENT are provided for the whole county.

There is a Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) situated in the main hospital concourse close to the Tower Entrance. There is a second PALS office in the Main Atrium in the new buildings. The PALS staff are available to give information, advice and support to patients and their families and friends about treatment and other issues or worries they may have. The PALS office can be contacted on Tel: 08454 226831.

Another service for patients and visitors, within the new buildings is a Health Information Room where patients and families can drop in and find out about a wide range of health issues, including health promotion, smoking cessation, healthy eating, and information about specific conditions.

Foster's Restaurant is open to visitors, it is a large pleasant self-service dining area selling hot and cold meals and snacks. Fosters can be found at the foot of the Tower. It is open from 8am - 8:30pm 7 days a week. Within the new buildings there is a modern attractive WRVS café, run by the WRVS, also providing a range of hot and cold snacks. There is café style seating and a comfortable seating area within the conservatory-style Atrium. The café is open 9:30am - 7pm Monday, Tuesday and Friday and 9:30am - 4pm Wednesday and Thursday.

One Stop Dispensing and Near Patient Pharmacist are two recent key developments to the way pharmacists work at the hospital which mean less waiting for patients and improvements to prescribing.

The Trust is Non-Smoking and has had complete Smoke-Free status (throughout its grounds as well as buildings) since March 2006.

Delancey Rehabilitation and Assessment Hospital

Delancey Rehabilitation and Assessment Hospital specialises in medicine for the elderly. The hospital has over 100 beds and has a tradition of caring for people in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

Tewkesbury and Winchcombe Hospitals are part of the Gloucestershire Primary Care Trust. For further information, click on the following links:

As a large acute Trust, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust attracts staff in all clinical disciplines. It is able to offer an excellent career structure, opportunities for flexible working and a wide range of services to support staff.

The Trust places a great emphasis on improving patient access to services and reducing visits to hospital where possible through the provision of "one-stop clinics" where all tests, consultations and treatments are provided with only one visit to hospital.

The Trust provides opportunities for the public to be involved through patient surveys, focus groups and a good working relationship with the Community Health Council.

Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)

A Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) within the Trust provides the opportunity for patients, their relatives and friends to access clear and user friendly information.

For matters relating to Cheltenham General Hospital and Delancey, contact PALS on Tel: 0800 953 1321.

For matters relating to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, contact PALS on Tel: 0800 953 1367. For Ambulance Service matters, contact either number depending on the area.

League of Friends

The Hospital's League of Friends, other support groups and organisations play an important role in the life of the service and are an effective link to the public.

The Trust enjoys strong and fruitful relationships with its partners in the Gloucestershire Health Community and in Social Services and other statutory organisations, working together to ensure the best health care for people in Gloucestershire.