Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children

About Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children (GOSH)

One of the four leading children's hospitals in the world
Strengths: Paediatric Oncology and Haematology, Paediatric Neurosurgery, Paediatric Rare Diseases, Paediatric Cardiology, Paediatric Endocrinology, Paediatric Immunology, Paediatric General Surgery

The Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children (GOSH) in London, UK is a world-renowned children's hospital with a long history of excellence. It is recognised as one of the few international paediatric centres in the world that can treat children with rare, complex or multiple conditions.

As an international centre of excellence in paediatric care, GOSH has over 60 different clinical specialties and sub-specialties and over 300 internationally qualified consultant paediatricians. GOSH is ranked first in Europe and fourth in the world in the World's Best Specialised Hospitals 2022 - Paediatric Specialties list by Newsweek. ranked first in Europe and fourth in the world.

Located in the heart of London, England, GOSH was founded in 1852 and is the first specialist children's hospital in the English-speaking world. It has a history of nearly 170 years and enjoys Royal backing.

GOSH's International and Private Care (I&PC) department provides medical care for children with rare and difficult conditions around the world that is not available locally. Each year, GOSH International receives over 5,000 referrals from more than 80 countries and territories and provides tailored and specialised medical care.

Young GOSH patients at Disney's Reef at GOSH

A world-renowned hospital, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children GOSH is
The third largest centre for the treatment of childhood cancer/leukaemia within the Western world
One of the world's leading centres for paediatric heart transplants, with one of the UK's largest paediatric cardiology programmes
The world's leading centre for paediatric gene therapy
One of the two larger paediatric bone marrow transplant centres in Europe
Europe's largest centre for paediatric inherited cardiovascular disease
One of the larger paediatric interventional radiology departments in Europe
Large European centre for epilepsy surgery and a large UK centre for paediatric brain surgery
Large paediatric intensive care centre in the UK
Large paediatric centre for kidney transplantation in the UK
Large UK centre for craniofacial plastic surgery

The history and ethos of GOSH - "A hospital designed for children"

The founder of GOSH, Dr Charles West, believes that children need more care and more targeted treatment than adults. "The child first and always" has always been the motto of GOSH.


As a national treasure, GOSH was one of the UK's national cards to the world at the London 2012 Olympic Games, with 600 medical and nursing staff posing with the 'GOSH' graphic, GOSH's reputation and history has attracted the best paediatric medical staff and researchers from around the world. The long history of the children's hospital has also made GOSH an important part of British culture, a permanent home for Peter Pan, a place where British author Charles Dickens lived from heart to heart, and where Princess Diana served as director from 1989 until her death.

GOSH graphics at the London Olympics

Colourful gaming facilities and play areas are everywhere at GOSH, with each ward area having a separate games room. More uniquely, GOSH also has a special in-hospital 'playgroup' - one of Europe's larger medical gaming teams, made up of professional medical gaming experts as well as gaming specialists.

GOSH respects the diversity of cultures, beliefs and the care taken to note every special day to add fun and surprise to children's lives in the hospital, and GOSH International Patient Care also holds regular special holiday celebrations and children's parties to give families from far away a sense of warmth and care.

World-class paediatric care

Proven multidisciplinary model of care (MDT)
As a global leader in rare and complex paediatric diseases and the UK's leading paediatric hospital in the wider paediatric field, GOSH has gained invaluable experience in the clinical management of rare and complex paediatric diseases and has developed a sophisticated multidisciplinary model of care.

Paediatric care at GOSH spans nearly 70 paediatric specialties and sub-specialties. All specialties hold regular Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) meetings. The participants usually include 20 to 30 specialists and clinical staff from different departments and areas, who discuss and finalise individualised treatment and rehabilitation plans and services that are child-centred, standardised and integrated, with a long-term perspective.

The power of research: "GOSH is a research-based children's hospital"
A qualitative breakthrough in the treatment of rare and complex paediatric diseases is dependent on forward-looking research projects and wider international collaboration. As a research hospital, GOSH has a close strategic research partnership with the Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (UCL GOS ICH) at University College London. With a wealth of big data on rare and complex diseases and close collaboration with global research funding bodies, GOSH remains at the forefront of medical research and clinical practice to help children with rare diseases worldwide.

Together with the Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health at University College London, GOSH has established the UK's first academic biomedical research centre dedicated to paediatrics (NIHR GOSH BRC) and a major European research and education centre for child health and disease.

In July 2019, the GOSH Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children, the world's first research centre dedicated to exploring new treatments for rare diseases in children, was successfully opened.

As a major European clinical and basic science research centre in paediatrics, GOSH is now in the field of rare diseases in children with a total of
sees over 28,000 children with rare and ultra-rare diseases
Conducts research on over 200 rare and complex diseases
Over 500 research projects on rare and ultra-rare diseases

As a leading international centre for gene therapy for children, GOSH has
successfully treated over 120 children
Conducted over 20 clinical trials
15 paediatric diseases covered by research

GOSH patients and staff

The new Children's Sight and Hearing Centre
In June 2021, GOSH opened its new Sight and Sound Centre. The centre is the first medical centre in the UK dedicated to treating children with visual and hearing impairments. Over 100 clinical staff from GOSH will provide a child-centred, multidisciplinary and personalised service for children and young patients with visual or hearing impairments from across the UK and internationally. The centre has been designed to meet the unique needs of children with deafblindness, with bespoke and attractive artwork throughout.

Artwork in the GOSH International Patient Care Unit