ENWhen patients from abroad look for a Kiel hospital in Germany, they usually mean UKSH, the university hospital of the state of Schleswig-Holstein (Universitätsklinikum Schleswig-Holstein), whose Kiel campus serves the city on the Baltic coast.
This page covers what UKSH Campus Kiel is, which departments are worth checking for a given diagnosis, who leads the patient’s care, how to get to Kiel and how AlenMed arranges the trip.
What UKSH Campus Kiel is
Campus Kiel is one of the two sites of UKSH, a single university hospital working in Kiel and Lübeck. It is a public institution of the universities of Kiel and Lübeck; in Kiel it works with the medical faculty of Kiel University (Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel): its scientists lead medical care and research at the hospital, and its medical students train here. In plain words, a university hospital takes complex and rare cases, several specialists often decide together, and research and the training of doctors go on alongside treatment. See our page on university hospitals in Germany.
A trip to Kiel makes sense if a German doctor has already recommended this hospital or a specific Kiel department fits the diagnosis. The word “university” alone is not a reason to travel: what matters is whether a department treats your condition and accepts the case after reading the documents.
Departments and centres at the Kiel campus
- General, Visceral, Thoracic, Transplant and Paediatric Surgery (Klinik für Allgemeine Chirurgie, Viszeral-, Thorax-, Transplantations- und Kinderchirurgie)
- Internal Medicine II – Haematology and Oncology (Klinik für Innere Medizin II – Hämatologie und Onkologie)
- Internal Medicine III – Cardiology and Medical Intensive Care (Klinik für Innere Medizin III – Kardiologie und Internistische Intensivmedizin)
- Cardiac Surgery (Klinik für Herzchirurgie)
- Congenital Heart Disease and Paediatric Cardiology (Klinik für angeborene Herzfehler und Kinderkardiologie)
- Neurosurgery (Klinik für Neurochirurgie)
- Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgery (Klinik für Orthopädie und Unfallchirurgie)
- Urology (Klinik für Urologie)
- Radiotherapy (Klinik für Strahlentherapie)
- Oncology Centre Campus Kiel (Onkologisches Zentrum Campus Kiel)
Complex cases are usually discussed at a multidisciplinary meeting of doctors from different specialties. For tumours this is the tumour board (Tumorkonferenz): at the UKSH university cancer centre such boards meet regularly, and the surgeon, oncologist and radiotherapist, with the pathologist, radiologist and others, review the results and agree on a treatment plan. The recommendation goes into the electronic patient file, visible to everyone involved in the treatment.
Patients from abroad usually come to a university hospital for a second opinion on existing findings, complex surgery or a rare diagnosis. If it is too early to travel, a second opinion in Germany gives a German doctor’s view of the diagnosis and plan. Whether the hospital takes the case is decided by its doctors after reading the documents; nobody can promise an outcome.
Who treats the patient at UKSH in Kiel
The patient is cared for by the team of the department that accepted the case (doctors, nurses and therapists), and each clinic is led by a director (Klinikdirektor). Who exactly leads the treatment depends on the diagnosis and on which department takes the case.
Getting to Kiel and staying there
Kiel is the capital of Schleswig-Holstein on the Baltic Sea, north of Hamburg, so international patients usually fly into Hamburg and continue by train or transfer. UKSH itself advises the same: via Hamburg Airport, then by train and bus or by car. Trains run to Kiel main station (Kiel Hauptbahnhof), then a bus or taxi to the campus; a bus also runs from Hamburg Airport to Kiel. If treatment in Hamburg would suit the diagnosis better, see our overview of hospitals in Hamburg.
According to UKSH, a single or double room is a paid optional service (Wahlleistung), subject to availability, and for an extra charge a companion can stay and eat with the patient. Patients choose their breakfast, lunch, afternoon coffee and dinner from a menu, and any prescribed diet is taken into account automatically. Visiting hours differ between clinics and wards; the afternoon is best, and nurses explain the exact rules. For relatives of cancer patients, the Schleswig-Holstein Cancer Society provides a free flat in Kiel, and families of young patients can stay at the Ronald McDonald House a few minutes’ walk from the children’s hospital. AlenMed arranges airport pickup and accommodation, booking a place to stay near the campus.
Frequently asked questions
Does Kiel hospital in Germany accept patients from abroad?
Yes. UKSH has an international service, UKSH International, which helps patients from other countries organise their stay, taking cultural and religious needs into account. Whether a specific case is accepted is decided by the doctors of the relevant department after reading the reports and scans. The reply comes as a treatment proposal and cost estimate; the invitation for a medical visa follows the deposit.
How does Campus Kiel differ from Campus Lübeck?
They are not two separate hospitals but one university hospital on two sites; before the merger they were run as separate university hospitals. In Kiel, UKSH works with the medical faculty of Kiel University, in Lübeck with the University of Lübeck. Each campus has its own clinics and centres, so the request goes to whichever site has the department that fits the diagnosis.
Do I need to speak German to be treated at Kiel hospital?
No. We translate the reports and scan descriptions into German in advance, and a medical interpreter accompanies consultations. UKSH itself states that all its doctors speak English, and for other languages the hospital can arrange an interpreter on request, which is agreed with the ward staff.
How AlenMed arranges treatment at Kiel hospital
AlenMed prepares and sends the request to the hospital: the patient sends reports and scans, we translate them into German and forward them to the matching UKSH department, and the hospital replies with a treatment proposal and a cost estimate (Kostenvoranschlag). The more complete the documents, the less room for inaccuracies: the WHO lists diagnostic errors and medication errors among the common sources of patient harm. The page on arranging treatment in Germany walks through every step.
Payment goes directly to the hospital; after the deposit, the hospital issues the invitation for a medical visa, and a medical interpreter accompanies consultations. AlenMed’s office is in Munich, and our 86 partner clinics are in 38 cities across Germany; UKSH is not one of them. If a hospital in Hamburg suits the diagnosis better, we say so; one example is UKE Hamburg (Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf).
This material is for reference only and is not an offer. The treatment plan is decided by the doctor at an in-person consultation.