Smoke free site

Please be aware, South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust operates a smoke free sites policy. Smoking is not permitted on any of the Trust’s sites.

Building work at Warwick Hospital

Building work is taking place in parts of the main public car park (Car Park A) at Warwick Hospital, causing possible disruptions. This work is to support the Trust to develop a new main entrance and elective hub. Please consider alternative transport options - details can be found in 'how to get here' section below.

We apologise for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience.

If you do drive please be aware that there are two visitor car parks (Car Park A and Car Park B) as seen on the Warwick Hospital map.

This map provides information on ways to travel to Warwick Hospital
You. Smart. Thing. map - provides information about how you can travel to Warwick Hospital 

Alternatively, the Warwickshire County Council website contains information on the public transport services available in Warwickshire. You can also obtain information from the following websites:

Bus

Train

Chiltern Railways

Chiltern Railways' new timetable (post 21 May 2023) has all Birmingham to London trains now calling at Warwick, increasing the number of services that stop there.

There is a 5-minute walk to the hospital from the station.

Cycle

Cycle guides for Warwick and Leamington

Bike storage areas can be found by the main hospital entrance and by the Aylesford Unit.

Drive

Warwick Hospital houses the majority of South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust’s acute services including: Accident and Emergency, Maternity, Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) and Intensive Care.

Warwick Hospital, Lakin Road, Warwick, CV34 5BW (use this postcode in satellite navigation systems)

Visiting

General visiting takes place at our Trust between the hours of 12:00 to 07:00pm. Each patient can have two visitors at one time. Please ring the ward ahead of visiting to organise your visit. In cases such as compassionate grounds more than two visitors are permitted per patient. Patients with additional needs such as dementia, learning disabilities and autism and those receiving a life changing diagnosis can have visiting outside of normal visiting hours agreed on an individual bases with the ward.

Specialist areas such as Macgregor ward, Intensive care, Special care baby unit and maternity services have their own visiting guidance please discuss with the department your specific arrangements.

All visitors are required to wear a mask while attending clinical areas. Please do not visit if you have symptoms of COVID 19, Flu or diarrhoea and vomiting

Please note there may be restrictions in place in certain areas.

When visiting your relative or friend please do not give them any medication or help them to take any medication without checking with the nursing staff on the ward that it is safe to do so. All medication given has to be recorded in order to correctly assess the patients' condition and response to treatment.

Are you visiting from an EU Country or Switzerland? You will need to show your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). More information on the EHIC card.

How to cancel or re-arrange your appointment

If you can’t attend a face-to-face or virtual appointment, even if it is the last minute, please let us know so we can re-arrange it and offer the slot to help someone else.

You can cancel and re-arrange appointments by calling  01926 600 036  or emailing OutpatientsAppointments@swft.nhs.uk.

Suitable gifts

Flowers and plants are attractive but they do not last in the warm hospital atmosphere, locker space is very limited, and as there is electrical equipment, spillages may be hazardous. Therefore not all wards welcome flowers or plants. Please consider bringing other items such as: travel size toiletries; a book or magazine; games, cards and puzzle books. You could also bring squash, sparkling water, sugar-free gum, small quantities of fresh fruit, plain biscuits.

Please check with ward staff if in doubt about the suitability of gifts and please do not bring in hot food.

Wheelchairs

Please note that wheelchairs require a £1 coin to use. This is to ensure that wheelchairs are returned to the correct areas so that they are available for when patients/visitors require them.

Restaurant opening times

Think Food Restaurant
Monday - Friday 8am to 7.30pm
Saturday - Sunday 8am to 2pm

Café Qualita
Monday – Sunday 7am to 8pm

Visiting times

AccessAble - link to accessibility informationBelow are our visiting times. However, we occasionally need to put restrictions on visiting times for clinical reasons. Whenever this happens there will be an alert on the homepage of the website. Please make sure that you check this or call the ward before visiting.

Please be aware the wards have a weekly floor clean that means that it may be temporarily not possible to go into the specific area being cleaned or you may be asked to come out for a short time whilst this is being done. Please liaise with the relevant ward area to find out more about when this happens.

Avon

12pm-6pm every day except Thursdays where visiting is 4pm-6pm due to a ward clean. There is a max of 2 visitors by the bedside and no under 16 allowed.

Beauchamp Ward 12.00 to 18.00
Telephone 01926 495321 ext 6432 / 6433
Castle Ward 12.00 to 19.30 everyday apart from Wednesday which is closed between 13.30 and 16.00
Charlecote Ward 11:00 to 19:00 everyday apart from Monday 16:30 to 19:30
Coronary Care Unit 14:00 to 20:00, apart from Wednesdays when visiting is 16:00 to 20:00. Only two visitors at a time and no visitors under 16.
Fairfax (48 hours) 12:00 to 19:30
Farries 12:00 to 19:30
Greville 12:00 to 19:30 every day apart from Monday 16:00 to19:30 due to ward cleaning
Guy 12:00 to 19:30
Hitchman 12:00 to 19:30
Hatton (Short stay surgical) 13:00 to 19:00
Intensive care unit (ICU) 12:00 to 19:00
MacGregor (Children's Ward) Open visiting - 24-hour access for parents
Malins (Cariology) 12:00 to 19:30, apart from Wednesdays when visiting is 16:00 to 19:30. No visitors under 16 years old permitted without prior arrangement with the nurse in charge each shift. Please call 01926 495321 ext 4024 / 4412 to arrange. 
Mary 12:00 to 18:00 - no visitors under 16 (unless prearranged with the ward)
Nicholas 12:00 to 19:30
Oken 12:00 to 19:30
Special Care Baby Unit Parents & siblings anytime.
Grandparents only – 15:30 to 16:30 or 18:30 to 19:30
Maximum of 3 people per baby
Squire 12:00 to 19:30
Sephenson Unit 12:00 to 19:30
Swan (Maternity)

Named birth partner and patients’ children - 09:00 to 21:00
General visiting - 16:00 to 18:00
ONLY 2 VISITORS AT A TIME (excluding the named birth partner)
Only patients’ children are permitted on the ward.

Thomas 12:00 to 19:30 every day apart from Thursday 16:00 to 19:30 due to ward cleaning
Victoria 12:00 to 19:30
Willoughby 13.00 to 18:00 every day apart from Tuesday 15:00 to 18:00 due to ward cleaning
23 Hour (Short stay surgical) 13:00 to 19:00

 

We have Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) systems

How it works...

  1. As you enter the hospital car park, your vehicle registration will be captured automatically by camera.
  2. Park your vehicle in a designated car parking space
  3. When you are ready to leave, please pay at one of the pay stations, by entering your vehicle registration and following the onscreen instructions
  4. You now have the choice of paying with coins, notes and/or card including contactless payment
  5. Once you have paid, please return to your vehicle and proceed to exit
  6. If you have forgotten to pay for parking please contact Local Parking Security (LPS) by telephone on 01789 293273. Please listen to the information, you will be given the option to pay for "Hospital Parking" and will be asked to press option 1, please have your registration and information on where you parked ready to give to the call handler. This must be done within 24 Hours of leaving the Car Park. For your information their email address is LPS@localparkingsecurity.co.uk.

Please note our car parks can get extremely busy during peak times of the day, therefore where possible please consider alternative transport or leaving extra time for parking.

Length of stay Charges
First 30 minutes Free
0 minutes to 1 hour £2.60
1 hour to 2 hours £3.10
2 hours to 4 hours £4.70
4 hours to 6 hours £7.30
6 hours to 24 hours £9.40
Weekly Ticket - Patients and patient visitors only     £15.60

The car park is managed by a Trust nominated car parking company, so please ensure you pay for your parking before leaving otherwise you will be subject to a parking charge notice.

As a patient you might qualify for the Hospital Transport Cost Scheme, which helps some people with the costs of getting to and from hospital. Please contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS).

Eligibility for Free Parking

You may be eligible for free parking. There are no charges for the following groups:

  • Patients attending the Renal Unit for Dialysis.
  • Visitors staying overnight in the Neonatal Unit
  • Visitors for end-of-life patients
  • Visitors to the complaints department (meetings)

Following the Government’s manifesto commitment in 2019 to make hospital car parking free for those in greatest need the following has been implemented:

Blue badge holders

This is for holders of a valid Blue Badge attending hospital as a patient or visitor, or for a disabled person employed by the hospital Trust. Blue Badge holder patients and visitors receive free parking for the duration of their attendance at, or visit to, the hospital. Blue Badge holder employees receive free parking while at the hospital for purposes relating to their employment.

Working with our external ANPR contractor (LPS) to enable the blue badge holder to scan (via a bar code) their blue badge at any of the pay on foot machines located in any SWFT public car parks. The machine will authenticate that the blue badge is valid and in-date and once the holder has inputted their registration number allow the holder free parking for the duration of their stay.

Frequent Outpatient’s attenders

Free parking will be provided for all patients who attend hospital for an appointment three times within a month and for an overall period of three months A month is defined as a period of 30 days

How it works:

  1. You will be eligible for free parking as a frequent attendee after you have had a face-to-face appointment with a Consultant or Doctor at least three times in a month or over a period of a least three months. A month is defined as a period of 30 days
  2. This does not include - Blood tests - Radiology tests - Hearing tests - Medical device fittings - Endoscopy appointments - Physiotherapy appointments - Maternity scans
  3. You MUST pay for all visits and obtain a receipt
  4. After your third visit please use this form to claim back your parking charges
  5. The Trust will reimburse the cost of a 2nd class stamp
  6. Please be aware that this form may be used for audit purposes to substantiate the claim
  7. If you have any queries about parking please speak to someone from the department you are attending

Parents of sick children staying overnight

This is for a parent or guardian of a child or young person, under 18 years of age, who is admitted as an inpatient at hospital overnight. They receive free parking between the hours of 7.30pm and 8am while visiting the child. This would apply to a maximum of two vehicles.

For any Car parking queries, please contact Hotel Services at Hotel.Services@swft.nhs.uk

How to claim

In person at the cashiers office (Warwick Hospital only) - You will need to provide proof of benefit each time you make a claim and proof of appointment/attendance.
By post using HC5(T) form, available at cashiers/reception desks or the security office (Warwick Hospital only).

Patient multi-appointment tickets

If you are a patient required to attend regular clinics or outpatient appointments, you can qualify for a 5 or 10 visit multi-appointment ticket. This ticket will give you access to the car parking facility at Warwick Hospital for a 3 month period from date of activation. To get a multi-appointment ticket, please ask the receptionist for a form, and return the completed form back to Security Office.

We are proud to confirm that the Trust has eliminated mixed sex accommodation from all of our Hospitals.

Every patient has the right to receive high quality care that is safe, effective and respects their privacy and dignity. The Trust is committed to providing every patient with same-sex accommodation, because it helps to safeguard their privacy and dignity when they are often at their most vulnerable.

We are proud to confirm that the Trust is compliant with same sex accommodation standards. Our aim is that all patients who are admitted to any of our hospitals will only share their room with members of the same sex, and that same sex toilets and bathrooms will be close to their bed area. Sharing with members of the opposite sex should only happen by exception, in the event of a life threatening emergency or where patients need constant observation (for example in the Intensive Care Unit, the Coronary Care Unit, or in the immediate post-operative recovery rooms).

Sharing accommodation with the opposite gender may occur, in certain areas in the Trust, where there has been agreement by all of the patients concerned and where the patients’ dignity is able to be maintained at all times. Examples of such sharing include, where patients are receiving day case treatments such as chemotherapy; where patients are having minor surgery to extremities such as eyes, feet, hands, where they are not required to undress; in the children’s ward, where children and young people prefer to be segregated according to age rather than gender.

What does this mean for patients?

Same sex accommodation means

  • the room where your bed or trolley is will only have patients of the same sex as you in it, even if you are not staying over night;
  • your toilet and bathroom will be just for your gender, and will be close to your bed area;
  • it is possible that there will be both men and women patients on the ward, but they will not share your bed/ trolley area. You may have to cross a ward corridor to reach your bathroom, but you will not have to walk through opposite-sex areas;
  • you may share some communal space, such as day rooms, dining rooms and therapy areas, such as gyms and it is very likely that you will see both male and female patients as you move around the hospital (e.g. on your way to X-ray or the operating theatre);
  • it is probable that visitors of the opposite gender will come into the room where your bed is, and this may include patients visiting each other;
  • it is almost certain that both male and female nurses, doctors and other staff will come into your bed area;
  • if you need help to use the toilet or take a bath (e.g. you need a hoist or special bath) then you may be taken to a "unisex" bathroom used by both men and women, but a member of staff will be with you, and other patients will not be in the bathroom at the same time, and
  • in Accident and Emergency, before patients are admitted to the Trust, patients will experience mixed sex areas. However, patients will be in their own separate cubicles, with dividing walls and curtains.

What are our plans for the future?

All new inpatient developments will be compliant with same-sex accommodation standards. Compliance with same-sex accommodation will continue to be monitored and reported Audits will continue to be carried out against privacy and dignity standards.

How will we measure success?

Success will be measured through improvement in our patient experience scores through in patient questionnaires and through the National Inpatient survey results. Success will also be measured through no instances of mixed sex accommodation, which will continue to be monitored by and reported to the Patient Experience Group and to the Board of Directors. Results of the Care Quality Commission's surveys are available on their website and progress of the Trust's actions against these surveys can be monitored through the Trust's Board papers on this site.

What do I do if I think I am in mixed sex accommodation?

We want to know about your experiences. Please contact a member of the ward staff in the first instance. Alternatively you can contact one of the Matron Team, PALs or the Patient Experience Officer if you have any comments or concerns.

How to contact us

Matron Team
Tel: +44(0)1926 495321 ext 8118

PALS
Tel: +44(0)1926 495321 ext 8020

Patient Experience
Tel: +44(0)1926 495321 ext 4676

Further information

You can find out more about the same-sex accommodation programme at NHS Choices.

We are committed to improving patient safety. We’ve joined Sign up to Safety, a national campaign that aims to reduce avoidable harm by 50%, and we are part of the Leading Improvement in Patient Safety Programme.

Below you’ll find more information about our infection control, helping stop patient falls, smoke-free sites and more.

Infection control

We have an Infection prevention and control team that develops and implements our strategy to help reduce infection risk at our hospitals. However, everyone can help keep infections under control, from using the alcohol hand gel before entering and when leaving a ward, to not visiting patients when you are unwell.

Smoke-free sites

In line with NICE guidelines and as part of our commitment to improving the health and wellbeing of the local population all of our sites became smoke free from 1 January 2016. Watch our video below for more information or read our Smoke Free Trust Policy.

Patient falls

One of our safety challenges is preventing patients from falling over. This can occur because patients are in unfamiliar surroundings, reduced mobility, effects of medication etc. You can help by bringing in secure fitting shoes or slippers, glasses and hearing aids, walking aids used at home, and easy fitting daytime clothes. We have also bought equipment to help reduce the risk such as lower beds and sensor alarms that alert staff a patient is getting out of bed.

Major incidents

As a major provider of healthcare services to Warwickshire and beyond, South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust is fully prepared to respond in the event of a major incident. This ensures that we are ready to manage the emergency with minimal disruption to our normal services.

Contact

Infection Prevention and Control Team
Tel: +44(0)1926 495 321 Ext 4213 (Monday -Friday, 9am to 5pm)

Related links

Chaplains are employed by the NHS to give pastoral, spiritual, and/or religious care.

Spiritual care relates to such concerns as purpose, meaning, identity, hope, suffering, and more. We aim to offer a safe space in which these concerns can be shared, at many levels and in many ways.

We offer support to patients, families and members of staff in all the hospitals across the Trust. We also work closely with community teams.

Our team is made up of full time, part time and honorary chaplains, as well as chaplaincy volunteers and occasional placement students. The main office is in Warwick Hospital, and we also share the Volunteer Hub office in Leamington.

Volunteers

We have a team of about 30 chaplaincy volunteers who visit patients on the wards in all our hospitals. They have all completed a bespoke training course in chaplaincy and pastoral care. They come from a variety of faith traditions. In Warwick they usually visit on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Each volunteer is assigned to a ward and after consultation with nursing staff they visit bed to bed to tell people about the chaplaincy service and to give pastoral and spiritual support. They report back to the chaplains who will then follow up any needs that have been highlighted. If you are interested in being a chaplaincy volunteer, please see click here.

Whether you are a patient or a relative of one, being in hospital can be a challenging time. You or your loved one may be feeling anxious or distressed. You may be dealing with a new diagnosis, or just wondering what is going to happen next. You may feel alone. You may be bereaved. Whatever is happening, it is normal to feel overwhelmed from time to time. We’re here to support you.

We seek to support people of any faith. We hold a list of local faith leaders and representatives who we can contact when needed. We also have an internal group of staff members of many faiths who act as advisors to the service and give support.

Children and Young People’s Chaplaincy

We have two children and young people’s chaplains. They work with the community palliative care team to support families of palliative children and bereaved families.

Bereavement Listening Service

We offer 1:1 sessions for bereavement support. The service is offered to patients, bereaved relatives and members of staff. We can meet face to face or talk on the phone or online. Contact us at listening@swft.nhs.uk. More information on the Bereavement Listening service.

Big questions

Illness can raise all sorts of questions for people – why is this happening to me? What have I done to deserve it? What if I don’t get better? Some of these questions may find some resolution within a person’s religious tradition but most people are not religious, and even those who are, need more than religion to meet their deepest human needs.

Chaplains offer time and space to listen to a person’s needs and to help them articulate what matters to them. We are here for people who find themselves to be patients and for their families – sometimes it is family members who needs most support. It helps to talk – we are here to listen.

Visiting

We will visit anyone and give whatever time is needed to meet their need. You don’t need to ‘be religious’ to see a chaplain. We will only talk about religion if you want to.

We are here for everyone, regardless of background or belief.

Our main base is Warwick Hospital. However, we also visit:

Leamington Hospital
We visit patients or staff in any area of Leamington Hospital, at any time. There is usually a chaplain on-site in Leamington on Wednesdays. We also have a small team of chaplaincy volunteers who visit the wards on Fridays. Our chaplaincy administrator is based in the volunteer hub. Here there is also chaplaincy information and support.

Stratford Hospital
We visit patients or staff in any area of Stratford Hospital, at any time. A small team of chaplaincy volunteers, including one of our honorary chaplains, visit regularly on the Nicol Unit and Rigby Unit. They are usually there on Thursdays.

If you need us urgently

Call switchboard (01926 495321 outside the Trust or press 0 if using a Trust phone) and ask for the on-call chaplain: there is always a chaplain available, at any time of the day or night.

If it’s not urgent

We are usually on-site at Warwick Monday to Friday between 08:00am to 04:00pm and on Sunday mornings.

Email: chaplaincy@swft.nhs.uk
Phone: 01926 495321 ext 4121
Or pick up a referral form outside the chaplaincy office in Warwick and post it through our door – or if the door is open, come in to talk to us.

The Chapel at Warwick Hospital, and the Oasis at Leamington Hospital are always open and you are always welcome. These are shared spaces, quietness is observed where possible. We also hold services here.

At Warwick there is also a prayer room and wudu facilities. The prayer room contains religious items for Muslim, Hindu and Sikh faiths. In the Leamington Oasis there is a screened space with prayer mats.

At Stratford Hospital, there is a room on the first floor of Building One with wudu facilities.

Trees of love and prayers

You will find a tree in the chapel at Warwick Hospital, the Oasis at Leamington Hospital and also at Stratford Hospital, where you can hang a leaf on the branches as a sign of your love and prayers for someone, or in memory of someone who has died.

Regular Services

We hold a simple service of Holy Communion at 09:30am each Sunday in the chapel at Warwick. This is a short service (about 20 minutes) that follows a Church of England liturgy.

Jumu’ah Prayers take place in the chapel on Fridays at about 1:15pm.

Staff, patients, visitors and volunteers are all welcome at these services.

Roman Catholic Chaplaincy

We currently do not have a Roman Catholic Chaplain. We have volunteers who are Eucharistic ministers who come in on most Tuesdays and Thursdays for non-urgent pastoral Roman Catholic visits. We also have an emergency call out service provided by local priests. This is not a 24/7 service; on days when we have no priest available, we advise families to call in their own priest.

Many of the referrals we receive are for people at the end of life, or those caring for them. Sometimes people just want someone to be there with them: we can do that. We can also offer prayers and other religious rites as appropriate. We can help someone network with their local faith community. We also offer simple bereavement support.

Religious and cultural needs at the end of life

This link will give some guidelines for religious and cultural needs of patients, including guidance for end of life religious care. However, no guide is ever conclusive and every individual may have different needs. We always ask and we never assume. We are happy to be involved in conversations with staff and patients to facilitate support for religious and cultural needs.

We can assist with all of these!

Baptisms (also known as christenings) may be important for a baby or an adult, especially when the future is uncertain.

Emergency marriages can sometimes be arranged at a bedside if need be. Contact us to discuss this.

Emergency Marriage in Hospital Procedure can be accessed by staff via the Trust extranet.

We also conduct funerals for patients who die in the hospital with no next of kin, and for babies who die at any gestation or after birth. Occasionally we are asked to take a funeral for a patient whom we have spent time with in the hospital – we are always happy to consider this.

The chaplains work closely with the Trust's Bereavement Midwife, early pregnancy and maternity teams to support parents when they experience baby loss at any gestation or after birth.

We can visit people when they are on the ward or in any hospital department. We also conduct funerals for babies of any gestation; and we hold annual remembrance services for anyone who has ever lost a baby. And we offer ongoing support when that is needed. We can meet people in their own home, or anywhere else as appropriate.

We have some beautiful books of remembrance in the chapel at Warwick:

For babies:

For members of staff who have died:

A professional calligrapher writes and illustrates the inscription.

We are here for all staff as well as for patients and their families. We offer one to one support, either for times of crisis or in a more on-going way.

We are happy to support by phone, online, or face to face. We can offer support to staff who are off work, for sickness or any other reason. We also offer team support, for example de-briefing after a traumatic event, or memorial services for members of staff who have died. We can offer tea, biscuits and tissues for any reason, at any time! We can also offer retreat days for staff teams, and services or blessings for any occasion.

Because we are often on-site (as well as one of us being on call 24/7) we can usually respond to a need pretty quickly, if not immediately. We don’t operate with waiting lists or appointment systems.

We hold supplies of wooden holding crosses and hearts, prayer cards, bibles, rosaries, medallions, Buddhist statues, knitted hearts, blankets, twiddle muffs and more. Just ask us.