Watford General Hospital

Picture of a sign that says Welcome to Watford General Hospital

Watford General Hospital
Vicarage Road
Watford
Herts, WD18 0HB

Tel: 01923 244366


About Watford General Hospital

Accident and Emergency – Open 24 hours every day

Urgent Treatment Centre - Open 8am to 2am every day

In an emergency, dial 999. If you need medical advice but it is not an emergency, use the NHS 111 service by calling 111 or visiting NHS111. They will help you get the treatment you need and direct you to the most appropriate place. You can even avoid queues by booking an appointment time.

Watford General Hospital is the core location for inpatient emergency care, and for all patients who need the specialist emergency facilities (such as intensive care) of a major district general hospital. It also provides elective care for higher risk patients together with a full range of outpatient and diagnostic services. There are approximately 600 beds and nine operating theatres.

Watford provides women's and children's services, including neonatal care.

The hospital is about a 15-20 minute walk from the town centre.


Travel, directions and parking


Contacting a ward or department at Watford General Hospital


Visiting a patient at Watford Hospital

Family members, carers and friends can visit adult inpatients between 8am and 10pm, seven days a week, with a maximum of two visitors at a time.

Catheter lab, ITU, day surgery unit (DSU) endoscopy and Helen Donald units

For patients in our catheter lab, ITU, DSU, endoscopy and Helen Donald units, only one visitor may accompany a patient to assist with consent. Open visiting hours are therefore not suitable for these areas due to levels of patient care required and stricter infection control rules in place.

Reminder for paediatrics

For our paediatrics wards and departments, parents, carers and other close family members are already able to visit freely throughout the day or night with a maximum of two visitors by a child’s bedside. Siblings are welcome onto wards to visit from 3-8pm but are discouraged to enter any clinical area if they are unwell.

Please view our visiting guidance before visiting our site.


Food and drink

  • The Dining Room restaurant is open everyday 7am - 8pm
  • The All Good Coffee Company, next to The Dining Room, is open every day 7am - 8pm
  • Peabodys Coffee shop, located in the outpatients waiting area (near the main reception area on level 2 of the main building), is open Monday to Friday 7am – 6pm


Patients' lounge

The patients' lounge is situated by the main reception area on Level 2 of the main building.

Monday to Friday 8.30am - 6pm.

Telephone: 01923 217039


Infopoint free phone help points

Infopoint help points are free telephone kiosks which allow the user to make free calls for a taxi, travel information, general health advice, the Trust switchboard and Patient Advice and Liaison (PALS).

At Watford, these are situated at our main hospital entrance, A&E, AAU, Outpatients and Maternity departments.



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