Hotel for cancer patients saves NHS money

A four-star boutique hotel in London is not like any other you'll find in the capital. Cotton Rooms was built with just cancer patients in mind and offers a luxury setting, warm and friendly service and all the touches to help patients retain their independence while undergoing treatment and tests.

The hotel was developed by UCLH Charity and is an alternative for patients at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) who would normally be put up in local hotels.

UCLH allows patients to stay at a nearby hotel for free instead of in a hospital which costs around three times more.

Patients at Cotton Rooms receive treatment and are monitored daily. There is an ambulatory care team that can be contacted 24 hours a day and telephones with direct access to the hospital.

Cancer patient Tom Clarke, 26, was one of the first to stay at the hotel and said: "I like the layout, the colours and there's a chilled out, cosy atmosphere. Best of all though is the freedom – I can come and go as I please. I live in Maidstone so it's a bit far to travel each day when I'm having chemotherapy and the hotel is far better than staying in a hospital ward.

"I like the fact that everyone here is in the same boat – having treatment at UCLH – and that it's a good way of getting to know other patients."

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