Families can stay in our Ronald McDonald Houses for as long as their children are in hospital. This means it isn’t possible for us to know when a room will become free, so we aren’t able to pre-book rooms. The only exception is our House at Moorfields Eye Hospital. As the hospital carries out mainly elective surgeries, we are able to pre-book rooms.

There is no standard waiting time for a room. When a House is full or very few rooms are available, we have to prioritise families based on several factors, such as the distance travelled from home, the severity of the child’s illness and the length of time expected to be in hospital. It does often occur that a family who has only just arrived at hospital gets the next room available.

Families can stay in a Ronald McDonald House for as long as their child is in hospital

It’s completely free. We ask for a £25 key deposit which is refundable once you check out, although you can choose to donate it to the Charity.

If your child’s medical team have said it’s okay for them to leave the hospital and visit the House, and the House Manager is comfortable with the decision, they can visit the House and your allocated room. Some of our Houses have a medical day pass available, contact your House team for more information.

Families are able to make use of our free Wi-Fi throughout the Houses. We’ve even had parents work remotely.

We encourage all families staying with us to invite their friends and family to the House, to spend time with them and to get support when needed.

All our Ronald McDonald Houses are unique, but they all provide en suite bedrooms; most of the bedrooms can accommodate up to four people. They also all provide laundry rooms and communal kitchen / dining facilities and space to store your food. Our Houses offer toys for children and most contain fully equipped playrooms and large lounges. Some Houses have gardens or balconies.

Absolutely. Many of our Houses offer the Day Pass system. This means that families who either don’t need a place to stay or there is not a room available, can still use the communal facilities. They can prepare food, wash and relax away from the ward.

Our housekeeping teams clean the House regularly and ensure bedrooms are in a good condition for a new family to move in. However, it’s the responsibility of each family to clean their own bedroom during the length of their stay, just as you would at home. We also expect all families to clean up after themselves if they use the communal living facilities, such as the kitchens.