Staying with your child at GOSH

We know it can be stressful when your child is in hospital, so we encourage one parent to stay with them all the time if possible. This means you can keep to your normal routines as far as possible and your child will be reassured to have you with them.

We guarantee that one parent will be able to stay with your child at GOSH. Depending on your child’s ward, this may be at their bedside in a recliner chair or fold out bed. We will always offer somewhere to one parent to stay overnight.

We keep a ‘waiting list’ for the other parent – if there is space in our accommodation units by the evening, we will offer them somewhere to stay as well but can’t guarantee this. We will also have to review what space is available from day to day so cannot guarantee that the same space will be available so you may need to move rooms.

If it would be unsafe for you to stay by your child’s bedside, for instance on intensive care or high dependency units, we will arrange somewhere to stay for two parents in one of our Family Accommodation Units.

You contact our Accommodation Office on 020 7813 8151 or by emailing patienthotel@gosh.nhs.uk

All accommodation is self-catering, but there are plenty of cafés and shops in the local area. Please ask for a copy of Around GOSH for details. Bed linen and towels are provided free of charge in all rooms. If you need fresh linen or towels, please put it outside the room in the morning.

All accommodation is free but we will ask for a small deposit, which we will return to you when you check out, if the room is in the same condition as you found it. When your child moves to a ward where you can stay at the bedside, we will ask you to move out of the Accommodation Unit to make space for another family.

Wi-Fi is available in most accommodation units – details are in the welcome folder inside each room. As the Mezzanine Unit is within the main hospital building, you can sign on to GOSH-guest in the usual way. There are televisions in most communal areas showing Freeview channels and televisions in the bedrooms in Sandwich Street.

During the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, facilities within Family Accommodation Units are open as usual but please take care to follow social distancing and frequent hand washing. If you show any symptoms, do not come back to the hospital but ring the Accommodation Office. Out of hours, please call the Security team.

We have various Family Accommodation Units close to GOSH – further details are available below:

This is located within the hospital on level 3 of the Main Nurses’ Home building. It contains a number of twin-bedded rooms. The unit also contains a communal kitchen, bathroom and lounge area. Unfortunately, the Mezzanine Unit is not suitable for wheelchair users. Patient’s brothers and sisters up to the age of two years can stay with their parent in the unit.

This is a short walk from the hospital and contains 11 private en suite bedrooms and two bedrooms with communal bathrooms alongside a communal kitchen and living area. There is also a communal kitchen and lounge area. Unfortunately, Morgan Stanley House is not suitable for wheelchair users.

This is just at the back of the hospital a few minutes’ walk away. It contains a number of twin and single rooms most of which share communal bathrooms. The triple rooms are reserved for heart transplant patients and their parents coming the day before their clinic appointment. Each house has a communal kitchen. None of the Grenville Street or Guilford Street houses are suitable for wheelchair users.

This is just at the back of the hospital a few minutes’ walk away. It consists of three rooms – 2 twin rooms and 1 single, one of which is en suite. There is a communal kitchen in the house.

This house is reserved for parents of children and young people admitted as an emergency into the intensive care or high dependency units out of hours. The key must be returned by 10am the following day – if their child is still on an intensive care or high dependency unit, we will provide them with another room.

This is just at the back of the hospital a few minutes’ walk away. It contains seven flats (A to G) which each contain two or three bedrooms (twin and single rooms), with a shared kitchen. Seven rooms are en suite but the rest share communal bathrooms within the flat.

Flat A is reserved for heart transplant patients and their parents coming the day before their clinic appointment.

This is located on the road at the back of the hospital a few minutes’ walk away. It contains three flats (A to C). Flat A has two doubles rooms that share a bathroom and kitchen. Flat B is self-contained with its own kitchen and bathroom. Flat C consists of three bedrooms: the double room is en suite and the two single rooms share a communal bathroom. There is a communal kitchen in Flat C.

These flats are reserved for parents of children and young people on an intensive care or high dependency unit. When your child moves to a ward where you can stay at the bedside, we will ask you to move out of the Accommodation Unit to make space for another family.

In addition to GOSH Family Accommodation Units, we also work closely with The Sick Children’s Trust, which provides accommodation and support close to GOSH. The Sick Children’s Trust is a charity (Registered Charity No. 284416), separate from GOSH, founded in 1982 with the aim of providing high-quality ‘Homes from Home’ for families whose children are receiving hospital treatment for serious illnesses. Their homes have the additional support of house staff who welcome families and provide them with much needed support during their stay.

The Sick Children’s Trust’s homes are located on Grays Inn Road and Guilford Street, both around five minutes’ walk from the main entrance. Rainbow House is on Grays Inn Road and contains a number of triple, twin and double rooms and the Bone Marrow Transplant flat. Guilford Street House has a mixture of single, twin, triple and quadruple rooms, which also have space for a blow-up bed or cot. Both homes have direct phonelines to wards. Please note that there are no wheelchair accessible rooms in either The Sick Children’s Trust homes.

Any family with a child on an intensive care unit has priority for accommodation with The Sick Children’s Trust. Any empty rooms are allocated towards the end of each day to any parent who would not normally meet the guidelines set by GOSH. Families must be referred to The Sick Children’s Trust via Family Accommodation.

The Sick Children’s Trust homes are booked through the Family Accommodation department, located in the main reception area. Even if you have stayed there previously, a referral must be made from the Family Accommodation department. Your stay will be free of charge and you will not need to pay a deposit although a donation to The Sick Children’s Trust charity is appreciated, as they rely on public donations to keep their homes running and supporting as many families as possible.

The Sick Children’s Trust rooms are mainly for parents of children and young people on one of the intensive care or high dependency units. When your child moves to a ward where you can stay at the bedside, we will ask you to move out of The Sick Children’s Trust home to make space for another family.

Most of our accommodation is located within Georgian houses which cannot be adapted for wheelchair users because they are listed. If you are a wheelchair user, please call the Accommodation Office as we will do our best to find you somewhere to stay in our Patient Hotel, which is wheelchair-accessible.