ENUniversity Hospital Aachen (Uniklinik RWTH Aachen) is the teaching hospital of the medical faculty of RWTH Aachen University, in western Germany right by the borders with Belgium and the Netherlands.
This page covers how the hospital is organised, which departments suit your diagnosis, who decides on treatment, how to get there and how AlenMed arranges the trip.
What University Hospital Aachen is
University Hospital Aachen is a maximum-care teaching hospital; by its own figures, it has 35 specialist clinics and 1,400 beds. Like any university hospital, it combines treatment, research and the training of doctors, which is why complex and rare cases are referred here and several specialists decide together. In Aachen all of this sits under one roof: in the building formally opened in 1985, nearly all units of the RWTH medical faculty work alongside the clinics. The page on university hospitals in Germany explains how they work in general.
Other hospitals in Aachen are covered on a separate overview page. A patient from abroad needs the university hospital specifically when facing complex surgery or a rare diagnosis, or when a second opinion on tests already done is needed.
Clinics and centres at University Hospital Aachen
- Cancer centre CIO Aachen (Krebszentrum – Centrum für Integrierte Onkologie)
- Clinic for Haematology, Oncology, Haemostaseology and Stem Cell Transplantation (Klinik für Hämatologie, Onkologie, Hämostaseologie und Stammzelltransplantation)
- Clinic for Radiation Oncology and Radiotherapy (Klinik für Radioonkologie und Strahlentherapie)
- Clinic for General, Visceral, Paediatric and Transplant Surgery (Klinik für Allgemein-, Viszeral-, Kinder- und Transplantationschirurgie)
- Clinic for Cardiology, Angiology and Internal Intensive Care (Klinik für Kardiologie, Angiologie und Internistische Intensivmedizin)
- Clinic for Cardiac Surgery (Klinik für Herzchirurgie)
- Clinic for Neurosurgery (Klinik für Neurochirurgie)
- Clinic for Orthopaedics, Trauma and Reconstructive Surgery (Klinik für Orthopädie, Unfall- und Wiederherstellungschirurgie)
- Clinic for Urology and Paediatric Urology (Klinik für Urologie und Kinderurologie)
- Centre for Rare Diseases (Zentrum für Seltene Erkrankungen Aachen)
Interdisciplinary centres bring doctors from several clinics together: besides the cancer centre, there are, for example, the heart centre, the transplant centre and the spine centre. In cancer care a tumour board (Tumorkonferenz) chooses the plan: the surgeon, oncologist and radiotherapist review the scans and results together and agree whether to start with surgery, drugs or radiation. Since 2018 the hospital’s cancer centre has formed the Centre for Integrated Oncology, CIO ABCD, together with the cancer centres of University Hospital Bonn and the university hospitals of Cologne and Düsseldorf, and in 2019 German Cancer Aid (Deutsche Krebshilfe) recognised it as an Oncology Centre of Excellence (Onkologisches Spitzenzentrum).
Patients from abroad usually come for a second opinion on existing results, planned surgery or an examination when the diagnosis is unclear; the Centre for Rare Diseases looks after patients with unclear diagnoses too. A separate page explains how a second opinion in Germany works. The hospital’s doctors decide from the documents whether to take a case, and no outcome is promised in advance.
Doctors at the hospital
Each clinic is headed by a director (Klinikdirektor), and the patient is looked after by the team of the department that accepted the case. A patient reaches the right professor through a request: reports and scans go to the clinic that treats the condition, and its doctors review them and decide whether to admit the patient and to which department. So start with complete documents and a clear question, not with a name.
Getting to the hospital and where to stay
The nearest large airports to Aachen are Düsseldorf and Cologne/Bonn, and since the city lies at the «three-country point», where Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands meet, airports across the border are close as well: Maastricht-Aachen in the Netherlands, and Liège and Brussels in Belgium. The hospital has two sites, the main building and the Franziskus, so the exact building and route come with the invitation.
For an extra charge, patients can choose a single or double comfort room (Wahlleistung) with additional services: TV, telephone and internet are free, and on top of the usual meals there is a choice of more than 15 dishes. Normal wards have no fixed visiting hours, but the hospital recommends visits between 9 am and 7 pm and asks visitors not to come later. AlenMed arranges accommodation for relatives near the hospital and the airport transfer.
Frequently asked questions
Does University Hospital Aachen accept international patients?
Yes. The hospital’s International Office is the central contact point for all questions about the treatment of patients from abroad. Planned treatment starts with documents: doctors at the relevant clinic review the reports and scans and decide whether they can take the case. If so, the hospital sends a treatment proposal and a cost estimate, and after the deposit a visa invitation.
How much does treatment at University Hospital Aachen cost?
There is no single price: the cost depends on the diagnosis and the scope of treatment, and the hospital states it only after reviewing the documents, in a cost estimate (Kostenvoranschlag). Payment goes directly to the hospital, with the deposit paid before arrival. A comfort room is charged separately; travel and accommodation for relatives are worth budgeting for as well.
Where is University Hospital Aachen located?
The main building is at Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074 Aachen. From the main railway station (Aachen Hauptbahnhof), bus line 3B leaves from stop H2 on the opposite side of the street and takes you straight to the hospital entrance. The second site, the Franziskus, is on Morillenhang in the same city. The invitation states exactly where the appointment and treatment will take place.
How AlenMed arranges treatment at University Hospital Aachen
The patient sends us reports and scans; we translate them into German and send them to the clinic that treats the condition, and the hospital replies with a treatment proposal and a cost estimate (Kostenvoranschlag). Complete documents help doctors assess a case accurately: the WHO lists diagnostic errors among common adverse events that may result in avoidable patient harm. If the documents show that another university hospital in the region suits the diagnosis better, such as Cologne University Hospital or University Hospital Bonn, we say so.
Payment goes directly to the hospital, which issues the visa invitation after the deposit, and a medical interpreter attends appointments. AlenMed’s office is in Munich and its partner clinics are across Germany; University Hospital Aachen is not one of them. The page on arranging treatment in Germany describes every step.
This material is for reference only and is not an offer; the treatment plan is decided by the doctor at an in-person consultation.