The King’s story

King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the biggest and busiest Trusts in the country, primarily serving the London Boroughs of Southwark, Lambeth and Bromley, with a population of over 1 million people, and acting as a referral centre for millions more.

Our strategy and values set out our ambitions for 2026 to 2031.

Our nearly 15,000 talented and motivated staff work together as Team King’s to deliver the best for our patients.

Our history

Since opening in 1840, King’s has built its reputation as a world class hospital, with roots that lie firmly in the heart of our community. We are both a leading teaching hospital and a local hospital with a diverse inner city population.

Caring for patients from some of the most deprived communities in London, and some of the wealthiest, our world class specialties such as diabetes, liver, sickle cell, neurology, fetal medicine, stroke, and blood cancers are largely driven by the health problems of the people around us.

Right from our origins, caring for the poor and needy in Lincoln’s Inn in central London, and wounded soldiers from two world wars, the culture at King’s has always been one of creativity and enterprise, and this is reflected in the people that work here.

Pioneering institution

King’s is recognised globally as a world-leading innovator in healthcare. From conducting the UK’s first bone marrow transplant to helping to establish the world’s first voluntary blood donor service, King’s has been at the forefront of new healthcare for over a century.

In 1966, King’s established one of the first liver units in the country, and our King’s Liver Transplant Unit now runs one of the largest transplant programmes in Europe.

We are one of London’s leading trauma centres, allowing us to save more lives by providing immediate specialist care to the most urgent, life-threatening cases.

In 2016, we opened a helipad on top of King’s College Hospital in Camberwell. The helipad has transformed trauma care across south east London and Kent, and serves more than 4.5 million people. In 2019, King’s became the first major trauma centre in London to be granted permission for air ambulances to land at night, ensuring patients have access to highly-specialised treatment any time of the day.

We are a founding member of King’s Health Partners (KHP) – one of eight accredited Academic Health Science Centres in the UK committed to delivering better health for all through high-impact innovation.

King’s is also a member of the Shelford Group – a group of the top 10 teaching and research-active NHS Trusts.

Patients come to King’s from all over the world – for the skill and compassion of our staff and our reputation as pioneers in medical research.

Future innovations

We remain committed to developing cutting-edge treatments and technologies to help our patients receive the best possible care.

Our Trust strategy 2026 to 2031 sets out our vision to transform healthcare for our patients and communities. We are building on our heritage of excellence to shape a more innovative, inclusive and sustainable future.

We’ll be conducting ground-breaking research, investing in clinical trials, and committing to a Greener NHS. We are also committed to partnership working, as demonstrated by our work with the South East London Acute Provider Collaborative, plus other vital partnerships.