What happens here
- Consultations for new and existing patients, including second opinions
- Radiotherapy, including CT-guided SABR, at GenesisCare Southampton on the same site
- Chemotherapy, immunotherapy and targeted therapy at GenesisCare Southampton
- Follow-up appointments and scan reviews
Practical details
- Clinic days: By appointment, evenings — arranged around each referral as it comes in, not fixed to a particular day
- Parking: On-site parking
- Getting there: Off Tremona Road on the north-west side of the city, beside Southampton General Hospital; road access from the M27 and M271; a taxi ride from Southampton Central station
What happens here
Spire Southampton Hospital is where Dr Harinarayanan sees most of his private patients. New consultations, second opinions, follow-up appointments and scan reviews all happen here. If you have been given his name by a surgeon, another oncologist or a friend, this is usually the first place you will meet him.
What makes this site different from his other clinics is what sits beside it. GenesisCare Southampton, a private cancer treatment centre, shares the same site. His private radiotherapy, including CT-guided SABR, and his private chemotherapy, immunotherapy and targeted therapy are delivered there. So the consulting room where the plan is made and the treatment room where it is carried out are a short walk apart, and you are not sent across the county between the two.
The one treatment not delivered here is MR-Linac SABR, the MRI-guided radiotherapy for cancer that has spread to a few places. That is delivered on GenesisCare machines in London, Guildford and Oxford, and each of those sites has its own page.
Finding the hospital
The address is Chalybeate Close, Southampton, SO16 6UY. The hospital sits on the north-west side of the city, off Tremona Road, beside Southampton General Hospital. Do not go to the General for a private appointment; the two are separate hospitals, and Spire has its own entrance and reception. GenesisCare Southampton is within the Spire grounds and the reception team will direct you on your first visit.
The map link on this page opens the hospital in Google Maps for directions from wherever you are starting.
Getting here
By car, the hospital is reached from the M27 and the M271, then through the residential roads around the hospital site. There is parking on site. If you are coming for a course of daily radiotherapy, ask GenesisCare about parking arrangements for regular visits.
By train, Southampton Central is the nearest main station, and the hospital is a short taxi ride from it. Southampton Airport Parkway is an alternative for people coming from the north. Local buses serve the hospital area.
If you are unwell or tired from treatment, please do not drive yourself; ask someone to bring you or take a taxi.
What to bring
For a first consultation, bring any letters about your diagnosis, your scan and biopsy reports, a list of the medicines you take, and, if you are insured, your policy details and pre-authorisation number. If your scans were done at another hospital, let us know in advance so the images can be requested; a report alone is not enough for a radiotherapy decision.
Bring someone with you if you can. Write down your questions beforehand. If you are coming for treatment rather than a consultation, GenesisCare will tell you separately what to bring and whether to eat or drink beforehand.
Clinic days and booking
Because a cancer diagnosis cannot wait, appointments are arranged around each referral as it comes in, rather than fixed to a weekly slot. Dr Harinarayanan generally sees private patients in the evening. The quickest way to ask about an appointment is a message on WhatsApp or a call to the practice; the contact page has the details. Clinicians referring a patient should send a letter and scans to his secretary or use the referral form on the clinicians page.
Treatments at this site
Precision radiotherapy, IMRT and VMAT
Radiotherapy uses carefully shaped beams of high-energy X-rays to damage cancer cells so they stop growing. Modern techniques such as IMRT and VMAT shape the dose to the tumour and spare what is around it. Dr Harinarayanan plans and oversees private radiotherapy at GenesisCare Southampton, on the same site as Spire Southampton Hospital, for bowel and rectal cancer and cancer that has come back after earlier treatment.
Read more →
SABR, stereotactic ablative radiotherapy
SABR stands for stereotactic ablative radiotherapy: a short course of very precise, high-dose radiotherapy aimed at a small, well-defined tumour. It is an established treatment across the UK for small cancers and for cancer that has spread to a few places. Dr Harinarayanan uses CT-guided SABR at GenesisCare Southampton and MRI-guided SABR on the MR-Linac at GenesisCare's London, Guildford and Oxford centres.
Read more →
Chemotherapy and systemic therapy
Systemic therapy means treatment that travels through the whole body in the bloodstream, rather than being aimed at one spot. Chemotherapy is the best-known kind. Dr Harinarayanan plans chemotherapy and other drug treatments as a consultant clinical oncologist, and they are delivered privately at GenesisCare Southampton, on the same site as Spire Southampton Hospital.
Read more →
Immunotherapy and targeted therapy
Immunotherapy helps your own immune system recognise and attack cancer cells. Targeted therapy blocks a specific fault inside cancer cells that helps them grow. Both are systemic therapies, meaning they travel through the bloodstream to reach cancer wherever it is. Dr Harinarayanan uses them for selected bowel cancers, guided by tests on the tumour, and they are delivered privately at GenesisCare Southampton.
Read more →Common questions
Is Spire Southampton the same as Southampton General Hospital?
Spire Southampton and Southampton General are not the same hospital, though they sit next to each other. Southampton General is the NHS hospital where Dr Harinarayanan works as an NHS consultant. Spire Southampton is a private hospital on Chalybeate Close, beside it, where he sees private patients. GenesisCare Southampton, where his private radiotherapy and chemotherapy are delivered, is on the Spire site. When you book a private appointment, come to Spire, not to the General.
Do I have my treatment at Spire or at GenesisCare?
Both are on the same site. Your consultations with Dr Harinarayanan are at Spire Southampton Hospital. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy are delivered by GenesisCare Southampton, whose centre shares the site, so you do not travel elsewhere for treatment. GenesisCare bill for the treatment they deliver; Dr Harinarayanan plans and oversees it and sees you during the course. The exception is MR-Linac SABR, which is delivered in London, Guildford or Oxford.
What should I bring to my first appointment?
Any letters about your diagnosis, scan and biopsy reports, a list of the medicines you take, and your insurance details or pre-authorisation number if you are insured. If your scans were done elsewhere, tell us in advance so the images can be requested. Bring someone with you if you can; there is a lot to take in. Write your questions down beforehand so none are forgotten on the day.
Can I use my private medical insurance here?
Most private medical insurers recognise Spire Southampton and GenesisCare Southampton, and Dr Harinarayanan is recognised by Bupa. Check with your insurer before your first appointment that he is on their list and that your policy covers the consultation and any treatment, and ask them for a pre-authorisation number. If you are paying for yourself, ask for a written estimate. The fees page explains what is billed by whom.