St John & St Elizabeth Hospital has launched a new children and young people’s elective day surgery service for children aged three and above, increasing access to high-quality paediatric care in London.
The service provides elective day surgery with procedures available across a range of specialties including ENT, ophthalmology, maxillofacial, and plastic surgery; with further specialties to follow.
Simon James, Chief Executive Officer of St John & St Elizabeth Hospital, commented: “We’re proud to open a dedicated paediatric day surgery service that directly responds to the needs of our local community, ensuring young people can receive expert care in a child-friendly setting.
“We already see over 20,000 children through our urgent care centre and outpatient services each year, and this new service will expand our capacity to provide a wide range of care – from consultations to day surgery – under one roof. This service represents our continued commitment to offering safe, outstanding quality care to local families within our community.”
Staffed by a dedicated team of paediatric nurses, consultants, and specialists, the day surgery service will ensure that children receive the highest standard of care with procedures carried out in modern, well-equipped theatres, and recovery areas tailored specifically for young patients and their needs.
The new 10 bed dedicated children’s ward has been thoughtfully designed to provide a calm, child-friendly environment. With private en-suite rooms and bespoke wall mural decoration from local artist Hannah Sykes, the ward ensures every child receives personalised care in a space that promotes comfort, dignity, and reassurance throughout their journey.
Kate Lewis, Advanced Paediatric Clinical Practitioner and Head of Paediatrics at St John & St Elizabeth Hospital, explained: “Bringing paediatric day surgery to St John & St Elizabeth Hospital felt like the natural next step in our journey. We’ve grown from a small paediatric outpatient department in a single consulting room to a thriving clinic with our own dedicated space and a specialist team.
The opening of our new day surgery service will allow children and young people to receive expert care in a welcoming environment, close to home and in a space designed just for them. Everything – from diagnostics to recovery – is centred around the needs of young patients and their families.”
St John & St Elizabeth Hospital’s expansion into paediatric surgery represents a key step in meeting the needs of families across the capital. With demand for paediatric surgery services in the private sector growing, this new service will provide an important alternative for families seeking high-quality, timely care.
Additionally, profits from the new service will go towards St John’s Hospice, an on-site facility providing free, quality, holistic care to over 4,000 patients, families, and caregivers each year.
While based within St John and St Elizabeth Hospital, the hospice’s support extends across Westminster, Brent, Camden, Hammersmith & Fulham, Islington, and Kensington & Chelsea. In addition to inpatient care, it offers community-based services, social and welfare support, bereavement counselling, and day services through its new Wellbeing Centre, which opened last year. Notably, St John’s is the only hospice in London to provide 24/7 Hospice@Home care and to operate its own dedicated ambulance service.
