Frequently asked questions

How do I get to the Royal?

Can I park at the hospital?

What if I can't make my appointment?

Where can I get something to eat?

Can I smoke in the hospital?

What special facilities do you have for disabled patients?

Has The Royal Hospitals’ equality targets been reached?

What is this new service at Royal to aid those with limited mobility?

How do I get to the Royal?

Citybus run regular services leaving Castle Street, Belfast along the Falls Road to the hospital on routes 12, 13, 14, and 15. Routes 80 and 81 also leave Castle Street, stopping at Upper Queen's Street near the City Hall.

A special Royal Hospitals bus (route 95) leaves from Donegall Square East at the side of the City Hall at 7.10am, 7.30am and every half hour after that, stopping at Howard Street and the Europa Bus centre and railway stop in Great Victoria Street.

Bus Route Map

Site Map

Can I park at the hospital?

If arriving by car please use the visitors car park. There is a small charge for this which you will need to pay at the kiosk or pay machines BEFORE you return to your car.

Allow yourself plenty of time (about 30 minutes) to park and to get to your appointment or ward.

There are also a small number of spaces close to the outpatients centre for drivers with a disability, along with a set down point for disabled patients.

What if I can't make my appointment?

If you cannot keep your appointment or admission date please tell us as soon as possible, so that we can give your place to someone else.

For outpatient cancellations please telephone: 028 9063 4700. For inpatient cancellations please contact the ward. The main switchboard number is 028 9024 0503.

Where can I get something to eat?

Patients and visitors may use the two main restaurants on the Royal site.

There are plans to open a large shop on the ground floor of the new hospital in the meantime, a newspaper and sweet shop on the main corridor of the old RVH is open each day from 7.30am - 8.00pm, with a trolley service visiting wards.

Can I smoke in the hospital?

The Royal Hospital operates a no smoking policy in line with other Government buildings. Outpatients and visitors are asked not to smoke while visiting the hospital – and not to smoke at our entrances. Smoking kiosks have been installed outside buildings in some parts of the hospitals. Please ask the nursing staff were your nearest one is. Patients are asked to inform staff every time they leave their ward. If you would like to give up, call the Smoking Helpline on 0800 85 85 85 for support and advice.

What special facilities do you have for disabled patients?

If you are disabled or have a speech, hearing or visual impairment please let us know as soon as possible. Every effort will be made to help make your visit to the Royal go as smoothly as possible.

Has The Royal Hospitals’ equality targets been reached?

Six years on from the introduction of ground-breaking equality legislation promoting equality and good relations, The Royal Hospitals looks back at how it has worked to meet the needs of an ever-changing population. The Royal has always sought to provide high quality services to everyone.

The Royal's Section 75 Review and Equality Scheme has provided a workable basis to advance equality of opportunity and good relations. The review summarises key activities and issues arising from the implementation of Section 75 in The Royal Hospitals over the past 5 years.

The Equality Scheme has lead and supported significant change in the areas of policy development and review; collaborative working and consultation and staff training. Crucially, it has moved the focus on equality of opportunity to service provision and service users as well as employment. Its focus on policy development has encouraged proactive thinking on equality and good relations, with the aim of preventing adverse impact rather than addressing it after it has occurred.

Over the last 5 years The Royal Hospitals has been engaged in 3 main types of work:

1) Activities meeting the requirements of Section 75 including Equality Scheme development, policy screening, formal reporting, equality impact assessment and awareness.

2) Activities meeting service needs for members of Section 75 affected groups, including targeted outreach programmes, interpreting and translating service information, job-related specific training, inclusion of user views in reviewing and improving services.

3) Activities aimed at ensuring The Royal Hospitals is a socially responsible organisation, including employment and learning initiatives, working with community groups, extending staff skills beyond the hospital walls and engaging with a range of stakeholders to promote equality and good relations.

Policies and procedures have been updated to meet changing needs – with input from patients themselves. With their help, steps have been taken to improve all aspects of access to services; from working with community groups, improving physical access, to providing written information for patients in 17 languages.

In 2000 fewer than 50 interpreting sessions were held in the hospital; in 2005, it was around 1,000. Staff have been equipped to meet these changes with extensive training on topics from disability to cultural needs. Almost 6,000 staff have attended training over the last 5 years.

Continuing the journey to equality and improving our services involves further patient involvement, monitoring changing patient needs and training staff to meet those needs.

Getting around made easier at the Royal

A new service which assists patients and visitors with limited mobility is now available at The Royal Hospitals, Belfast.

‘Shopmobility at the Royal’ is the first hospital-based scheme of its kind in Northern Ireland, offering appropriate patients and visitors electric scooters and wheelchairs to help them get to their destination anywhere on the Royal Hospitals site.

A range of mechanised and self-propelled scooters and wheelchairs are available at the Shopmobility unit where volunteer staff are on hand to meet and greet patients and visitors who require the service. While staff will endeavour to accommodate anyone with limited mobility that requires the service, phoning the Shopmobility unit in advance on (028) 9031 0923 to inform staff of the time the service is needed and to book a vehicle is recommended.

The service is free and is available from 8.30am to 5.00pm, Monday to Friday.

The Shopmobility unit is on the ground floor of the visitors’ car park beside the School Of Dentistry, close to lifts which provide access to the main hospital thoroughfare.

First time users will be asked for either their appointment letter or photographic ID to become a Shopmobility member. They will then be issued with a membership card which enables them to use all of Shopmobility services throughout Belfast.

“We are delighted, in partnership with Shopmobility, to introduce this innovative scheme for people with limited mobility at the Royal Hospitals. We hope that the scheme will help patients and visitors with mobility limitations get around the site and make accessing services easier,” said Veronica McEneaney, Health & Social Inequalities Manager at the Royal.

“If the pilot scheme proves successful we would hope to make it permanent and possibly extend it across other Belfast Trust sites in the future,” she added.

Left to right back row: Helen Chapman (Shopmobility volunteer), Sam Ogle (patient’s husband)

Front row: Jean Ogle on scooter (1^st patient to avail of Shopmobility at Royal) and Lisa Varldell (Shopmobility volunteer)