Chelsea and Westminster Hospital’s Open Day promises to be the biggest yet

Film, theatre and television actress Maureen Lipman CBE will officially open a special day of festivities as guest of honour, joining local people and families in celebrating 20 years of care provided at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.

Saturday 11 May marks the 7th open day and last year more than 2,000 people attended the event—we hope to encourage more people than ever to come and take part.

Not to be missed activities taking place from 11am-3pm include:

• The teddy bear hospital where children can bring their teddies for a check over by junior doctors
• Other children’s activities including face painting, making plaster finger puppets and the giggle doctors who will bring magic and laughter to children on the day
• Health MOTs including measuring BMI levels, glucose levels, carbon monoxide testing for smokers and blood glucose tests
• A career zone to give recruitment advice about how to join the NHS team
• Live music entertainment
• Quizzes with great prizes to be won
• Behind the scenes tours of the hospital, including our new treatment centre and the Chelsea Children’s Hospital
• An exclusive look at our brand new robot for keyhole surgery on babies and children. The state-of-art surgical robot, which cost over £1 million, was bought thanks to the Children's Hospital Trust Fund Charity's Pluto Appeal fundraising campaign

Tony Bell, Chief Executive, said: “We are delighted to be opening our doors to people and families from across the Boroughs which allows us showcase the excellent services our dedicated staff provide to patients each day.

“The day is a really fun way for families to spend a Saturday but also learn more about their health (and that of their teddies)! By providing tests and advice we hope to support people in taking more responsibility for their health and, by diagnosing problems early, help prevent complications that could lead to avoidable hospital care. We encourage as many people as possible to come along and get to know one of the most friendly and high performing hospitals in the country.”

Maureen Lipman said: “The last time I opened something at the Chelsea and Westminster hospital it was a machine for zapping kidney stones into smithereens. Just think, in those ten years, how many men have been spared the nearest thing to the pain of childbirth. Today we show our gratitude for this and so many other features and improvements to celebrate in this great local, London hospital.”