Appointments, visiting patients and accessing support

The British Medical Association has called off the resident doctors strike, which was planned to take place from 7am on Monday 15 June until 7am on Friday 19 June 2026.

Please attend any planned appointments as normal, unless we have already contacted you to cancel or reschedule it.

If we contacted you to cancel or reschedule your appointment, please do not come to The Christie or our other centres unless we contact you again. Our teams are working hard to reinstate any affected appointments as soon as possible. Please do not call to check if your appointment is still going ahead. Thank you to all patients for your understanding.

Patients who are attending outpatient appointments can bring one accompanying person with them. 

For patients attending day case procedures and treatments, there may be the opportunity to have someone remain with you in some departments, but this depends on your circumstances and the available space in the department. Please discuss with the staff in the department that you are visiting. Your friend or relative can come into the hospital to help you get to where you are going.

Depending on the waiting room occupancy, it may not be possible for the accompanying person to wait with you. This will be managed by the local department.

We ask that all patients, staff and visitors maintain good hand hygiene practice and respiratory etiquette during each visit. 

Access to the hospital

There are 3 entrances open to patients and visitors:

• Oak Road (open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week) – drop off zone available.
• Palatine Road
• Wilmslow Road

Facilities

We have the following facilities that are open to patients and visitors:

• The Christie Restaurant
• The Maggie's Centre
• Mark and Spencer café
• WH Smith shop
• Vending machines
• Seating areas in Oak Road reception 

If your doctor requests a PET-CT scan for you, we will offer you the next suitable appointment. We will choose an appointment closer to your home address if possible.

Depending on the type of PET-CT scan you’re having and any medical needs you have, your PET-CT scan might be at The Christie in Withington, Royal Albert and Edward Infirmary in Wigan, Oldham Community Diagnostics Centre, or Manchester Royal Infirmary. All scanners can provide the information doctors need to help diagnose and treat cancer.

Please take the PET-CT appointment we offer you if you can. This will mean you have your scan promptly, and your doctor will have the information they need at the right time to help manage your cancer.

You may get a call to book your PET-CT scan instead of an appointment letter. If you need any changes to your appointment, please discuss these with the booking team on the phone.

If you are unable to attend your appointment, please call the booking team to rearrange.

For more information about PET-CT scans and how you should prepare, please see our page on information about your PET-CT scan.

We value the importance of patients’ family and friends in supporting their wellbeing. We are aiming to balance this against the need for reducing the risk of transmission of infection to our vulnerable patients.

When coming into hospital for an inpatient stay, your friend or relative can bring you in to the hospital and help you get where you are going.

A single point of contact for each inpatient helps ensure visits are co-ordinated in line with ward restrictions on visitors. It also means updates on a patient’s condition can be routed through the single point of contact. On admission, the single point of contact will be verified and recorded on our system.

If you need help on arrival, please ask a member of staff on the main reception desk, or at the security office.

Visiting times

The wards at the Christie offer a wide range of specialist patient care. Please ask to speak to a senior member of ward staff to find out the visiting times and arrangements for each ward, including the numbers of visitors a patient can have at a time.

You can also see our wards page for contact numbers for every ward at The Christie.

Infection prevention

Please help us protect our vulnerable patients by following our infection prevention measures during your visit:

• Anyone who is feeling unwell (including respiratory virus symptoms) should not visit.
• All visitors must wash their hands on entering and leaving a clinical area.
• Visitors must use public toilets within in the Hospital – they should not use patient toilet facilities
• Visitors must not sit on patient beds or touch medical equipment they are attached to such as drips or catheters.
• Flowers are not permitted in clinical areas.

Please note – there may be times when we need to restrict visiting on individual clinical areas (e.g. infection control concerns).

• Car parking for patients and visitors is free of charge on both of our car parks for patients and visitors.
• WHSmith is open and located in the Oak Road main entrance (department 3).
• Marks and Spencer Food to Go is open, with opening hours from 7am to 7pm. Hot drinks are now available along with a full range of hot and packaged foods, and snacks.
• Withington is the closest local centre, about a 10 minute walk from the hospital. There are a range of cafes along the main street.
• Didsbury is another local centre about 15 to 20 minutes' walk or a short bus journey. It has a number of cafes and restaurants.
• There are toilets outside near to the entrance that can be used by people who are dropping off or waiting to collect a patient.

Patient travel expenses can be reimbursed for patients who qualify under the Healthcare Travel cost scheme. You can find out more on our Help with travel and costs page.