University College Hospital London

The T12 ward is our main inpatient unit at UCLH. It’s for 13-19 year olds and has 20 inpatient beds. All bedrooms are equipped with comfy soft furnishings, bespoke furniture, fridge, TV, DVD and gaming facilities. We also provide free Teenage Cancer Trust wifi. 

If you’re an inpatient, this means you’ll stay on the unit overnight, sometimes for several nights at a time depending on your health and the type of treatment you’re having.

On the unit, you’ll be looked after by a friendly, expert team including nurses and youth workers who specialise in supporting teenagers and young adults with cancer.

You’ll also meet plenty of other experts in different areas of cancer treatment, such as doctors, dietitians and physiotherapists. You might hear this being called the multidisciplinary team, or MDT for short.

T12 was fully refurbished in November 2016. 

Facilities at the unit

Everything on the unit is designed to help you feel more comfortable and in control, to connect with others your age going through cancer too, and to keep up with friends, studies and everything that’s important in your life as a teenager or young adult.

Family and friends are welcome to visit, and there’s space for parents, carers or partners to stay over. Facilities include:

• One five-bed bay and one four-bed bay
• Recreation room with pool table, comfy seating, TV, gaming, jukebox and space for arts & crafts
• The Sanctuary counselling/meeting room
• Parents’ room with kitchenette, dining area, fridges, microwaves and soft seating  

On the third floor of the Grafton Way building at UCLH is a nominated six-bed inpatient unit for young adults aged 20-24 having treatment for blood cancer and related conditions. The unit opened in 2022 and is part of a larger adult haematology ward. 

Teenage Cancer Trust has designed a social space on this ward to help you meet others your age going through something similar.  

There’s also a Youth Support Coordinator based on the young adult unit, who’s there to offer you practical and emotional support, and arranges events and activities to help you connect with other young people on the unit.

We also have a dedicated young adult waiting lounge within the proton beam therapy centre at UCLH. This specially designed space also opened in 2022, and features a quiet area, study area and TV and gaming facilities to make your experience as comfortable and enjoyable as possible while waiting for treatment.

There’s also a Youth Support Coordinator based in the proton beam therapy centre, who’s there to offer you practical and emotional support, and help you connect with other young people going through similar treatment.

You can find out more about proton beam therapy treatment for cancer on our information pages.