We are developing plans to temporarily move the specialist teams who provide children’s inpatient heart, lung and critical care and some tests and treatment from Royal Brompton Hospital (RBH) to the Evelina London Children’s Hospital (ELCH) site at Westminster Bridge. The teams have worked together under the same clinical leadership and management team for a few years since the merger of Guy’s and St Thomas’ and the Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trusts in 2021.
We are sharing information about this with the families of patients who could be affected. They are patients who need:
- an overnight stay in hospital (inpatient services), or
- a visit in the day (day cases) for tests or treatment that need medicine to make them sleepy (sedation)
We have sent a letter by post and text message to affected patients’ families about this temporary change, and we are asking for their views on the plans we are developing.
Why this move is needed now
At the moment, we provide children’s heart and lung services at both Evelina London Children’s Hospital and Royal Brompton Hospital. Even though the care we continue to provide remains safe, it is becoming harder for our surgeons and clinical teams to run these critical, highly specialist services across two hospitals, especially for our children’s heart surgery team.
This carefully planned, temporary move is essential to maintain and improve the quality, safety, and stability of care. It would allow us to:
- Avoid disruptions: By planning this this change carefully, we can reduce the possibility of sudden and unexpected changes that could delay and affect children’s care
- Improve consistency of care: Our team of five dedicated children’s heart surgeons is the right size for the number of operations we perform. Running the service across two sites makes it harder to provide consistent 24-hour cover for urgent and planned operations. Bringing the team together would ease pressure on staff and help us to coordinate care for young patients.
- Meet national standards: National guidelines for children’s congenital heart disease require services to be located near essential specialist care, such as general surgery, gastroenterology, maternity care, and 'foetal medicine'. There are also important standards for lung care, such as for children who need long-term ventilation support. When the lung service moves to Evelina London, we will be able to provide better access to ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialists. These specialists play a key role in caring for children who need this type of support. Evelina London offers all these services in one place.
What the temporary change means for patients
Which services are moving?
We are planning to move children’s heart and lung inpatient services, including the care provided on Rose Ward and the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Royal Brompton Hospital. Some day-case tests and treatment that require and sedation (medicine to make patients sleepy) will also move. Outpatient services are planned to remain at the Royal Brompton Hospital.
Is this change permanent?
No, this is a temporary change. This planned temporary move does not mean NHS England has made a final decision about how care will be provided in the long-term. Any decision to make a permanent change will require a formal process led by NHS England. This process will involve exploring all viable options that meet the needs of children who need these services and inviting views from patients, families, staff, and other public stakeholders.
When will the changes happen?
We would expect to begin making changes around May 2026, or as close to that as possible. We will contact all affected families with clear information about their care well in advance.
Will my child still have the same doctors, nurses, and therapists?
The doctors, nurses, and therapists at both sites are already part of the same team and organisation. We understand how important the relationships are between families and their care teams, and we will do everything we can to avoid changes to who manages children’s care. If there are any changes to the team or person managing children’s care, we will let you know as early as possible.
Where will our outpatient clinics be?
We are planning to keep outpatient clinics for children at all three sites: Royal Brompton, Evelina London, and Harefield Hospital. Some heart clinics that need special tests may move to Evelina London. If this affects you or your child, your healthcare team will contact you.
My child is already taking part in an ongoing or new research study or clinical trial. Will they still be able to take part?
Yes, this won’t change. Research has always been, and will remain, an important part of our services. We will continue working with our research partners to build and develop the research we do.
Get involved
We really value hearing from children, young people and their families. Recently, we held a series of online briefing sessions for families who use our services at Royal Brompton Hospital and may be affected by the temporary service change.
There will be more chances for you to get involved, share your thoughts, and help us develop our plans further. These might include:
- Joining a patient and carer group where you can share your experiences
- Taking part in online or in‑person workshops and events
- Filling in questionnaires or having a friendly phone interview with someone from our team
Your voice matters, and we’d love to hear from you.
Sign up to express your interest.
Children and young people who use heart, lung and critical care services and some tests and treatment at Royal Brompton Hospital (RBH). These are patients who need:
- an overnight stay in hospital (inpatient services), or
- a visit in the day (day cases) for tests or treatment that need medicine to make them sleepy (sedation)
Outpatient appointments are planned to remain at the Royal Brompton Hospital.
At the moment, we provide children’s heart and lung services at both Evelina London Children’s Hospital and Royal Brompton Hospital. It is becoming challenging for our surgeons and clinical teams to run these critical, highly complex services across two hospitals that are 3.3 miles (about half an hour) apart, especially for our children’s heart surgery team.
This carefully planned, temporary move will mean we avoid disruptions, improve consistency of care, and meet national standards.
No, this is a temporary change. This planned temporary move does not mean NHS England has made a final decision about how care will be provided in the long-term future. Any decision to make a permanent change will require a formal process led by NHS England. This process will involve exploring all viable options that meet the needs of children who need these services and inviting views from patients, families, staff, and other public stakeholders.
We really value hearing from children, young people and their families. Recently, we held a series of online briefing sessions for families who use our services at Royal Brompton Hospital and may be affected by the temporary service change.
There will be more chances for you to get involved, share your thoughts, and help us develop our plans further. These might include:
- Joining a patient and carer group where you can share your experiences
- Taking part in online or in‑person workshops and events
- Filling in questionnaires or having a friendly phone interview with someone from our team
Your voice matters, and we’d love to hear from you.
Sign up to express your interest.
We are planning to move children’s heart and lung inpatient services, including the care provided on Rose Ward and the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Royal Brompton Hospital. Some day-case tests and treatment that require sedation (medicine to make you sleepy) will also move. Outpatient appointments are planned to remain at the Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals.
We are planning to move these services around May 2026, or as soon after that as possible. If your child is affected, we will contact you well in advance.
We will give you clear information about what the move means for your child’s appointments for tests, treatment or hospital stays. Our aim is to make sure you know what to expect and feel supported well in advance.
The doctors, nurses, and therapists at both sites are part of the same team and organisation. We understand how important the relationships are between patients, families and their care teams, and we will do everything we can to avoid changes to who manages your child’s care. If there are any changes to the team or person managing your child’s care, we will let you know as early as possible.
No. We are confident that these changes will not increase waiting times for children. Our priority is to make sure every child continues to receive timely, high-quality care.
No. Your child will not wait longer for their surgery. Our children’s heart surgeons at Royal Brompton and Evelina London Children’s Hospital have been working together as one team for several years. We have one surgical waiting list for both hospitals. This means that all our specialists can work together to assess each child and make sure they get all the care they need as soon as possible.
We do everything we can to avoid cancelling planned care. We know that getting ready for a hospital visit can take a lot of time and effort for children and families.
Most planned appointments and treatments go ahead as expected. However, sometimes we need to rearrange planned care because of unexpected events or because another child needs more urgent treatment that cannot wait. If this happens, we will let you know as soon as possible and help you make new plans.
There will be two wards in the future. Rose Ward at Royal Brompton Hospital currently looks after children and young people with both heart and lung conditions. However, when the specialist teams move to the Evelina London site, care will take place across two wards:
- Children with heart conditions who need to stay in hospital will be cared for on a ward on the 10th floor of St Thomas’ Hospital’s North Wing. Evelina London teams already provide care in other areas within the connected St Thomas’ Hospital building.
- Children with lung conditions will stay on Sky Ward, on the 6th floor of Evelina London Children’s Hospital.
These two wards will have the same number of beds that we have currently for children with heart and lung conditions across the two sites. We will also be increasing the number of beds in other areas of the hospital to help us to care for more children when they need to stay in hospital.
We have been carefully planning how to make the best use of space within St Thomas’ Hospital and Evelina London Children’s Hospital to make sure we can care for all the children who need us.
A new children’s ward - Edward Ward, on the 10th floor of the North Wing of St Thomas’ Hospital – will open when services move. This ward will replace Rose Ward (at Royal Brompton) and the heart beds currently on Sky Ward (in Evelina London Children’s Hospital). It will enough beds to ensure that we can continue to care for all our children with heart conditions when they need to stay in hospital.
Children with lung conditions who need a stay in hospital will be cared for in Sky Ward.
We are also increasing the number of children’s intensive care beds at Evelina London Children’s Hospital, to make sure we can look after more seriously unwell children.
We will make sure families receive clear information about where to come for their child’s care.
Children’s wards and outpatient areas at Evelina London Children’s Hospital and St Thomas’ Hospital are bright, colourful spaces, designed with, and especially for, children. Many areas follow a natural world theme with artwork that helps create a friendly and welcoming environment.
We want children and young people to feel comfortable during their stay in hospital, and the design of wards reflects this – it is important that spaces feel safe, calm and child-friendly.
We know that parents and carers often want to stay with, or close to, their child while they are in hospital. Most beds in Evelina London Children’s Hospital have a pull‑down adult bed next to them, so you can stay by your child’s side.
Some families may also be able to stay at Ronald McDonald House, which offers a comfortable “home away from home” for families of children being cared for at Evelina London Children’s Hospital.
If you are not able to stay at Ronald McDonald House, Gassiot House Lodge at St Thomas’ Hospital has rooms that can be booked per night. There is a nightly charge for these rooms.
You can find more details about family accommodation on our website.
Yes. Evelina London Children’s Hospital has its own school, run by Southwark Local Authority, The Evelina Hospital School is rated Outstanding by Ofsted. Children receiving care at Evelina London Children’s Hospital or St Thomas’ Hospital can be supported by Evelina Hospital School.
The school helps children keep up with their learning during their hospital stay, with teachers who are experienced in working with children of all ages and with different medical needs.
Yes. There is a car park at St Thomas’ Hospital that is open 24 hours a day, every day. However, like many NHS hospitals in central London, parking is extremely limited, so it can be busy. More information about car parking and accessible drop off and collection points is available on the Trust website.
We are planning to keep outpatient clinics for children at all three sites: Royal Brompton, Evelina London, and Harefield Hospital. Some heart clinics that need special tests may move to Evelina London. If this affects you or your child, your healthcare team will contact you.
Yes, this will not change. Research has always been, and will remain, an important part of our services. We will continue working with our research partners to build and develop the paediatric research we do.
We are very lucky to have a dedicated, highly skilled and caring children’s nurses working at both Royal Brompton and Evelina London Children’s hospitals. Although they have been based in different places, they are all part of one team.
Nurses who currently work on the children’s wards at Royal Brompton will move with the services to Evelina London Children’s Hospital.
Many children with heart or lung conditions also need support from other specialist teams. Evelina London has a wide range of specialist services available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This means children in hospital can have quicker and easier access to the specialists they need.
Your child’s main clinician will continue to work closely with specialists from other areas, just as they do now. If your child needs extra support, the team will make sure their care is well-coordinated and joined-up.
We know that play services are a vital part of children’s care in hospital. We are lucky to have fantastic play teams at both the Royal Brompton and Evelina London Children’s Hospital.
These play teams will continue to support children and families in the new locations, helping children to feel comfortable and supported during their stay.
We have written to families whose child has recently stayed at Royal Brompton Hospital, or who may need to come into hospital after the services move, to explain what’s happening. We have also invited these families to join sessions where they can learn more and ask questions.
Teams at Royal Brompton are talking to families directly to make sure they know about the upcoming changes. Future appointment letters will clearly show where your child’s appointment, test or surgery will take place, so you always know where to go.
Guy’s and St Thomas’ provides heart and lung services from before birth and throughout a person’s life. This means our children’s (paediatric) teams and adult teams already work closely together.
As young people get older, our children's teams support them and their families to move smoothly into the Trust’s adult services. This is planned carefully so young people feel confident, prepared and looked after.