New Beginnings

Building on their history of excellent patient care, St John & St Elizabeth Hospital is proud to unveil its cutting edge £35m Wing. James Matthews report

St John & St Elizabeth Hospital has ushered in a new era, with the launch of a new £35m wing, featuring the best in 21st century technology, and designed with the patient at heart. It’s the jewel in the crown of a private hospital, committed to delivering the highest quality care and impeccable standards to the community of St John’s Wood.

The launch means that not only will people have access to the finest Consultants, at the forefront of their field; they will also have the benefit of the latest surgical equipment, a seamless patient journey; and calm, comfortable surroundings. People can rest easy knowing they are in the safest of hands in this community-centred hospital with areal family feel.

The hospital, affectionately known to locals as John and Lizzies, is also London’s leading charitable hospital, with a long history of providing excellent care. The new wing has been the perfect way to celebrate the hospital’s rich heritage and connection to the local community, as well as looking to the future and ushering in an exciting new chapter.

It’s opening will be in three phases, with the first floor in October 2021, and the remaining two floors planned to open by early 2022.

The first-floor boasts: four large integrated operating theatres; a six-bay recovery area; new orthopaedic facilities; and wide pathways with natural light designed specifically to create a calm, stress-free environment.

“The wing represents the huge efforts of our staff, our surgeons and our design team to create an environment that will provide the highest standards of care for our patients,” says Caroline Fox, St John & St Elizabeth Hospital’s Chief Executive Officer.

“They have worked against all the odds, particularly having to navigate COVID-19 restrictions, to produce a beautiful addition to this historic hospital, and one which will go on to serve the community of St John’s Wood for many years to come.”

“A key asset is the state-of-the-art facilities, enabling us to expand our capacity to treat patients in superb surroundings, which is good news for our St John’s Hospice, as all profits from the hospital go towards providing free specialist palliative care to more than 4,500 patients and their families each year”

In its 165th year of operation, excellence of care has been at the core of the hospital’s ethos since it opened in 1856under the care of the Sisters of Mercy, an order of nuns who worked with Florence Nightingale in the Crimean War. In1899, the hospital was moved, brick by brick, to its current location in the heart of St John’s Wood, including the careful relocation of its exquisite chapel.

Work began on the new wing in 2019, and since January this year, Kerry Barham, a former chief nurse, has been leading on the design and furnishing of the interior. “We have held workshops with heads of department and involved staff and former patients in discussions. The result isa calm, bright interior which has a feeling of space, with wide corridors, neutral colours and plenty of natural light,” she says. “The patient rooms are en-suite, each with a wet-room and large windows overlooking the local tree-lined roads. Our surgeons also love the floor to ceiling windows in some of the theatres.”

“We’ve all worked together to ensure that patients coming in for an operation can access everything easily. For example, the orthopaedic clinic is close to the reception area which is next door to X-Ray – everything in one place which has greatly improved the pathway for patients.”

St John & St Elizabeth Hospital is truly unique, staying true to the aim it set over 165 years ago – to provide the highest quality healthcare to all those who seek it.

www.hje.org.uk/about/new-wing