Where to park and get in at Cheltenham General: Blue Badge bays by St Paul's Wing and West Block, plus step-free access guides for 26 parts of the hospital.
Patients and visitors can now check the step-free routes, Blue Badge bays and accessible toilets at Cheltenham General Hospital before they set off. Detailed access guides for 26 parts of the hospital went online this month, and the rest of the site is due to follow in early 2027.
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust announced the guides on 19 October. They are written by AccessAble, which surveys each building in person, and they are paid for by Cheltenham and Gloucester Hospitals Charity. (Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, 19 October 2026)
What the guides tell you
The trust says each guide covers:
- parking
- step-free access and lifts
- accessible toilets
- hearing loops
- seating
- walking distances
- signage
Each one gives measured detail rather than a tick box: the width of a Blue Badge bay, how far it is from a named entrance, whether a kerb has tactile paving. The trust says they work on a desktop, tablet or phone, and the parking guide, for one, has an Easy Read view.
Will Cleary-Gray, the trust’s director of improvement and delivery, said: “Coming to hospital can be stressful, particularly if you are unfamiliar with the site or have specific access requirements. These guides will help people plan ahead with confidence by providing detailed information about our facilities before they arrive.”
Which parts of the hospital are covered so far
AccessAble’s Cheltenham General Hospital page listed 26 guides when we checked on 20 October.
Departments and clinics (14):
- Antenatal Clinic
- Appliance Office (orthotics)
- Aveta Birth Centre
- Bereavement Office
- Chemotherapy
- Endoscopy
- Fracture Clinic and Orthopaedic Outpatients
- FOCUS research centre
- Nuclear Medicine
- Oncology Centre
- Pre-assessment Unit
- Radiotherapy
- Ultrasound (maternity)
- Worcester Suite
Wards (4): Bibury, Lilleybrook, Snowshill, and Rendcomb ward and side rooms.
Around the site (8): getting to and around the hospital, parking, entrances, toilets, the chapel and chaplain’s office, the mortuary, the Blue Spa restaurant and the Glasshouse cafe.
The emergency department is not on the list yet. The trust says the remaining areas will follow in early 2027.
Parking: where the 33 Blue Badge bays are
The parking guide surveys four car parks with 33 Blue Badge bays between them.
According to the AccessAble parking guide:
- Sandford Road car park, at the front of the main building: 12 Blue Badge bays, the nearest 10 metres from the West Block accessible entrance, with a step-free route. Free for Blue Badge holders. No drop-off point.
- College Road car park, on the left side of the main building: 12 Blue Badge bays, the nearest 5 metres from the St Luke’s Wing entrance. Free for Blue Badge holders. There is a drop-off point in front of the College Road Wing entrance.
- St Paul’s Wing, off the rear hospital road: 6 bays for Blue Badge holders only, free. The guide notes faded markings, some bays on a slight slope and an uneven route to the entrance. There is a drop-off point with a 20 minute limit.
- Centre Block, at the rear of the main building: 3 bays for Blue Badge holders only, free, 10 metres from the Centre Block entrance.
None of the four has electric vehicle charging, the guide says.
The hospital also has a Changing Places toilet on the ground floor of the Centre Block. The toilets guide gives the route: from Lifts 5 and 6, turn right, then left, and it is on the right.
Who paid for it
The work was funded by Cheltenham and Gloucester Hospitals Charity. Charlie Homer, the charity’s head of income generation, said inclusion is one of its key priorities. Homer said the guides will “help staff and volunteers better support people with different access needs”.
The same charity is raising money for a new cancer centre at the hospital, which has planning permission from Cheltenham Borough Council. It says more than £9.8 million of the £12 million estimated cost has been raised (Cheltenham and Gloucester Hospitals Charity).
What it means for you
- If you or someone you care for has an appointment at Cheltenham General, look up the department on AccessAble before the day. It tells you which car park and entrance are closest and whether the route is step-free.
- If your department is not listed yet, the parking, entrances and toilets guides still cover the whole site.
- If you spot something that has changed, each guide has a form to report it.
- Guides for Gloucestershire Royal Hospital in Gloucester are part of the same project.
The hospital is on Sandford Road, GL53 7AN, and the switchboard is 0300 422 2222. For general town-centre parking, see our parking in Cheltenham page. For the Aveta Birth Centre, which has a guide but is still not taking births, see our report on why the birth centre has no reopening date.
Sources
- Gloucestershire Hospitals launches detailed accessibility guides, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, 19 October 2026: the partnership, funding, what the guides cover, the early 2027 timetable and the quotes.
- AccessAble, Cheltenham General Hospital: the 26 guides listed on 20 October 2026, the parking guide (bay counts, distances, charges, drop-off points, EV charging) and the toilets guide (Changing Places location).
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