Kingston Hospital Charity

Extension for excellence

Kingston Hospital is undertaking a major extension to its Royal Eye Unit (REU) that will not only improve the care it offers, but also create a self-contained day care oncology unit for children with cancer. We’re delighted to support this project with a grant of £92,000, through our ‘last mile’ grants for hospitals (more information here).

An ageing population, technological advances and clinical innovations mean more people need continued treatment at the REU. The extension will provide a medical retina unit to support patients with ‘age-related macular degeneration’(a common condition that affects the middle part of your vision) and other diseases that affect the back of the eye. The new unit will ensure privacy and dignity for patients, reduce wait times and help make services more efficient.

Kingston Hospital is rated as ‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission.
The REU cared for approximately 21,000 patients in 2021-22.
The paediatric oncology unit typically sees between 28 and 35 children newly diagnosed with cancer a year.

Above – An artist impression of how the new unit will look

A space for vulnerable children

Reconfiguring the existing REU facilities gives Kingston Hospital a unique opportunity to develop a self-contained day care oncology unit for children. The new unit will be linked to the rest of the hospital’s paediatric service and replace the current facilities with a much better space for children with cancer.

The new unit will be a dedicated space exclusively for children who make frequent visits. It will allow children with vulnerable immunity to be kept separate from other children, minimising their risk of infection, and provide a calm environment for them to receive chemotherapy. Over 75% of the paediatric oncology unit’s workload in 2021 was children with leukaemia. These children are on the longest treatment plans of between two-and-a-half and three years of active treatment and a further five years of follow-up.