Royal Cornwall Hospital

Parking at the Royal Cornwall Hospital

The main visitor car parks are within the hospital grounds. They can be busy so please allow some time before your appointment to park. If someone is driving you to hospital, you may find it easier to get them to drop you off before parking their car.

While we are upgrading our payment machines and barriers we temporarily have a pay and display system in operation. If you stay long than expected, no penalties will be applied whilst we are making these changes.

The main car parks use automated number plate recognition on entry and exit and are ‘pay on foot’. You will need to put your registration number into the payment machine to pay for your parking before you leave. The system is ticketless. Once you have paid, the number plate recognition system will raise the barrier for you to exit the car park.

Car parking charges for the Royal Cornwall Hospital:

• Up to 2 hours: £3.00
• Up to 4 hours: £6.00
• Up to 6 hours: £9.00
• Up to 24 hours: £15.00

Free parking for blue badge holders, frequent attenders and parents of sick children staying overnight

Blue badge holders

Patients and visitors with a blue badge will be able to obtain a ‘one-time reduction’ pass from the General Office during opening hours (9am to 4.15pm, Monday to Friday). Outside of these hours the blue badge can be presented to the Saba lodge in the main visitor car park to obtain a free exit ticket.

Frequent attenders

People who frequently attend outpatient appointments (at least 3 times a month for at least 3 months) will be able to obtain a ‘one time reduction’ pass, in the same way as described above, at each visit, following confirmation by the clinic/department being visited. This is in addition to the free parking currently offered by the patient departmental permit scheme.

Parents of sick children

Parents or guardians of sick children who are staying overnight will be able to obtain a ‘one-time reduction’ pass following confirmation by the ward. Free parking will apply between 7.30pm and 8am and can be for a maximum of two vehicles. Again, the pass can be obtained from the General Office (or Saba lodge out of opening hours) and is in addition to the patient departmental permit scheme.

Where confirmation is needed for a ‘one time reduction’ pass, a member of the ward or department team will need to call the General Office or Saba lodge to give verbal authorisation in advance of the patient or visitor making the request.

Concessionary tickets for long-term patients and visitors

• 5-day tickets: £18.90
• 7-day tickets: £26.92
• Monthly tickets: £43.13

(If you need to buy a concessionary long-term ticket, you’ll need to ask the ward or department you are visiting for a form.)

There are also a few ‘pay and display’ spaces near to the entrance to the Tower Block building. If you use one of these don’t forget to make a note of what time your ticket expires.
We also have free pick-up and drop-off spaces close to the entrances at all of our hospital buildings, but don’t forget to check signs for time limits and, of course, only use a disabled space if you’re displaying a Blue Badge.

There are also a few designated permit spaces for patients who need to attend hospital for long-term treatment. These spaces are free and next the department you will be visiting. If these spaces are available, we’ll let you know when you receive details of your appointments.

Saba UK manage car parking on behalf of the Royal Cornwall Hospital NHS Trust.

Other parking options

Cornwall Council runs a Park & Ride service – ‘Park for Truro’ – a mile and half up the road at Threemilestone. Park & Ride buses all come through the hospital site. It’s open from 7am to 7pm, Monday to Saturday. The service is quick and efficient running every ten minutes during peak times. For more information, including timetables and costs, visit the Park for Truro website or call them on 01872 279270.

Public transport

Many bus routes stop at the Royal Cornwall Hospital and there are frequent connections from Truro train station. For public transport information, please visit the Cornwall Public Transport Information website or call Traveline on 0871 200 22 33.

Help with transport

If you need help to get to the hospital, there are several community transport schemes that could help. If you receive Income Support or other benefits, you might also be able to reclaim your travel and parking expenses; visit our practical help and advice section for more information.

The Royal Cornwall Hospital has two pharmacies. The general pharmacy department is in the Tower Block, near Mullions Restaurant. There’s also a Lloyds pharmacy in the Link Centre, next to the Trelawny Wing; it dispenses for the emergency department and outpatients. This leaves the general pharmacy to concentrate on inpatients, specialist medicines and medicines for patients going home. Neither pharmacy dispenses FP10 prescriptions written by GPs. Patients can pick up their medicines from Lloyds in the same way as in a high street pharmacy. The usual exemptions will apply to payments, and staff can advise on the national pre-payment schemes for patients receiving regular prescriptions.

Opening Hours

Monday to Friday (5 days) 8.40am to 6pm
Saturday and Sunday including Bank Holiday (2 days) 8.30am to 5pm

Lloyds Pharmacy Opening Hours

Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm
Saturday 9am to 1pm

You can use these in the hospitals, however they can be disruptive for other patients on the wards so we ask that you are respectful, use headphones if possible and switch them off if a member of staff asks you to.

They can sometimes interfere with medical equipment, so if you are asked to switch them off by one of our staff, please do so straight away.

There is free Wi-Fi available in all of our hospitals, including the wards, coffee shops and restaurants.

The Wi-Fi network is called NHS Wi-Fi.

This is an open network and you don’t need a password. To get access, connect to the network in the usual way and a short registration form should pop up automatically. Your device will then stay connected for 24 hours, after which you’ll need to reconnect by filling out the form again.

If your device can’t find the NHS Wi-Fi network, it means we haven’t got access in that part of the hospital yet.

Our dining rooms, cafés and shops are open to visitors, patients and staff, and their opening hours are listed below, although it might be worth double checking with staff. (You should also ask for advice from a doctor or nurse if you’re on a special diet and thinking of using the dining room.)

Ingredients Restaurant, Tower Block

8am to 4pm Monday to Friday
Serving a full range of hot and cold foods including breakfasts, snacks, main meals and drinks.

Ingredients Coffee lounge

8am to 6pm Monday to Friday
Serving coffee, cakes and snacks. Wi-Fi is available here.

Cornwall Food Cafe, Trelawny Wing entrance

8am to 6pm Monday to Friday
8am to 4pm Saturday and Sunday.
Serving a wide range of snacks and drinks.

League of Friends Coffee Bar, Tower Block entrance

9am to 4pm all week.
Serving a range of snacks and drinks.

League of Friends Refreshment Bar, Mermaid Centre

Open during clinic hours, Tuesday to Friday. Serving a range of snacks and
drinks.

WH Smiths, Trelawny Wing entrance

8am to 8pm daily
Newsagent, confectionery, snacks, cards, gifts and flowers. A trolley service also
visits the wards each day.

Vending machines

• Emergency Department, main entrance foyer
• Maternity, ground floor
• Renal Unit, ground floor: Beverage unit
• Tower Reception, ground floor: varied choice of items, hot drinks and sandwiches
• Trelawny, 1st floor (Entrance Corridor): snacks and hot drinks
• Trelawny, Ground Floor (by Lloyds Pharmacy): snack machine

There is a cash machine located in the main entrance to Trelawny wing. It does not charge for withdrawals.

There is a Royal Mail post box located in the main entrance to Trelawny wing. You can buy stamps at WH Smiths.

The General Office provides a front-line cash service and a point of contact for patients who are eligible to claim travel expenses for hospital appointments.

What we do at the General Office:

• Help patients that qualify for travel reimbursements. We can advise whether patients are in receipt of the relevant benefits and provide advice on the methods of transport that can be reimbursed in full.
• Receive payments for invoices and donations to any of the hospital’s wards or departments.
• Accept donations to the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust Charitable Fund
• We encourage patients to leave valuable items and large sums of cash at home, but if this isn’t possible, we can keep patient’s cash and valuables safe and secure.
• Receive lost property items (we’ll keep them for three months)
• Provide travel information on how to get to your hospital appointment

Opening Hours

9.00am to 4.15pm, Monday to Friday

Location

1st floor of the Trelawny wing at the Royal Cornwall Hospital (just past the main Trelawny reception on the left)

Phone

01872 252690