Essentia
Essentia is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust.
We employ over 2,000 people across all our sites.
We are essential to the day-to-day operation of our hospitals. We are responsible for delivering most non-clinical services at our hospitals and community sites.
Our services
We prepare and serve fresh, nutritious meals daily for patients. We work with our clinical colleagues to provide a wide range of menus to suit all dietary needs.
We also sell a variety of food in our hospital restaurants. We are proud holders of the Silver ‘Food for Life’ accreditation, making sure our meals are nourishing and free from additives.
Our housekeeping team makes sure our hospital sites are clean, hygienic, and welcoming.
We maintain the highest standards of cleanliness and infection prevention.
We can pick you up to bring you to hospital and to help you get to your appointment.
We offer free patient transport for people who meet the criteria.
Our friendly portering team are on hand to help you get around the hospital when you arrive.
We also have a team of specialist porters who serve our theatres and other areas, trained to support you before and after treatment.
We manage parking at all our sites.
Our security team are specially trained to keep you safe across all our hospital sites.
Our security team are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
We handle waste safely and sustainably, following environmental regulations.
We also manage clinical waste collection for some local council patients, GP surgeries and pharmacies.
Email essentiaenvironment@gstt.nhs.uk if you have a query about your clinical waste.
Please include your:
- name
- address
- postcode
We're committed to making our hospitals greener by reducing energy consumption, waste, and carbon emissions.
Our in-house team maintains hospital infrastructure. We make sure everything runs smoothly and meets the highest safety standards.
Email healthsafety@gstt.nhs.uk for any queries about health and safety.
Essentia designs, builds and maintains healthcare infrastructure vital to the smooth running of our hospitals.
Recent projects include the:
- new Nuffield theatre suite, which provides 2 new state-of-the-art-theatres at Guy’s Hospital
- Evelina Children’s Day Treatment Centre at St Thomas’ Hospital
We work with clinical teams to design efficient, patient-centred healthcare environments to meet future needs.
Essentia aims to contribute to an excellent experience for our patients, visitors and staff across all the health settings we support.
Our strategy and values set out who we are, what we're going to do and how we're going to do it. We'll do this across our 5 hospitals and in the communities we serve.
Essentia is also responsible for non-clinical services at:
- King's College Hospital
- Princess Royal University Hospital
- Orpington Hospital
- University Hospital Lewisham
- Queen Elizabeth Hospital
- over 100 community sites in Lambeth and Southwark
Last updated: April 2025
