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Admissions and Pre-assessment Unit, Chelsea

The Admission and Pre-assessment Unit (APU) provides a pre-operative assessment clinic and an inpatient admissions service.

Location, directions and parking

APU is located on the second floor of the Markus Centre at The Royal Marsden's Chelsea hospital.

Travel and parking for The Royal Marsden's Chelsea Hospital

Facilities for disabled patients and visitors

We’ve worked with AccessAble to create accessibility information for the Admissions and Pre-assessment Unit.

Find out more about facilities for disabled patients and visitors at The Royal Marsden

Pre-operative assessment clinic

The pre-operative assessment clinic is a nurse-led clinic and plays an important part in the preparation for your surgery. It includes an assessment of your general health and fitness before surgery by carrying out various tests and investigations. If you have more complex medical issues you may be seen in an clinic led by an anaesthetic consultant.

Find out more about surgical pre-assessment:

A pre-operative assessment appointment can take up to two hours. While waiting, refreshments are available.

Inpatient admissions and discharge

APU also accommodates patients coming into the hospital for an inpatient stay.

Before being taken to your ward you will be asked to wait in the lounge area until your bed becomes available. During this time, a nurse will check your demographic details, carry out any tests that may be required (for example, blood tests or height and weight checks) and perform cannulation if required. APU staff will keep you informed about the ward you will be going to and give you an approximate waiting time.

We ask inpatients to leave by 10am on the day they are discharged from hospital. If you have to wait at the hospital for transport or to collect medications, you may be asked to wait in the APU.

Your inpatient stay

Find out more elsewhere on this website:

APU staff

Nursing staff in the APU are all experienced and specialised in pre-assessment, and are trained in skills such as phlebotomy, cannulation, ECG monitoring and physical examination. They work closely with consultant anaesthetists, assisting with cardiopulmonary and respiratory assessment and cardiopulmonary exercise testing, and with the multidisciplinary team to facilitate a holistic assessment of each patient.

The on-call clinical site practitioner is based on the APU 24 hours a day, working closely with the nurses on the wards and medical colleagues for support. This involves coordinating admissions, telephone triage to ensure patients are admitted accordingly to clinical need and acuity, and assisting patients with queries out of hours.

Lead Sister: Manuela Trofor
Matron: Victoria Ward