Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals

Welcome to Alison Wilcox and Jamie Heywood who have been appointed to join the Board at Guy’s and St Thomas’ as non-executive directors. Alison began her career in the NHS before moving on to a range of roles spanning management consultancy, HR business partnering, strategy and leadership roles with international businesses Hay Group, Vodafone and BT plc. Jamie is Chief Executive Officer of zolar, which provides software and services to small solar installers across Europe to help accelerate the energy transition. He has over 30 years’ experience leading growing technology companies across Europe and Asia. Charles Alexander, Chairman of Guy’s and St Thomas’, said: "The appointments of Alison and Jamie gives us the balance of skills, knowledge and experience we need across our non-executive directors. Alison’s expertise in workforce and Jamie’s in digital transformation, perfectly match the Trust’s priorities and the challenges the NHS is facing." #NonExecutiveDirector #NHS Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals

Our Chief Executive Professor Ian Abbs has announced his intention to stand down from the role of CEO later in the year. He will remain as Chief Executive until a successor is appointed and available to start the role. Ian has led Guy’s and St Thomas’ for 6 years, including throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Under his leadership we have completed a successful merger with Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust in February 2021; and, jointly with King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, delivered the largest global go-live of the Epic electronic health record system in October 2023. Ian is also widely recognised as a passionate supporter of healthcare research, innovation and life sciences, both to benefit patients and the wider UK economy. Chairman Charles Alexander said: "On behalf of the Board I want to express our enormous thanks to Ian for his continued leadership, and for supporting the Board to enable a smooth and well managed transition as we seek a future leader of equal calibre to lead this great organisation. "Those who know Ian will recognise that his determination and ambition are always matched by his commitment to deliver the best possible care to all our patients and his compassionate support for almost 24,000 colleagues across our 5 hospital sites and in our community services." #NHS #ChiefExecutive

Harefield started its life as a hospital in 1915 when it treated hundreds of Anzac soldiers in its grounds, thanks to the generosity of the estate’s owner and fellow Australian, Letitia Billyard-Leake. Over 50,000 troops were treated, starting a tradition of pioneering care – and recognition of those who have served – that continues to this day. Read more about it in our latest blog: https://lnkd.in/enA-wk6V #ANZACDay #WWI #Harefield #History (Image caption: One of the early wards created in a hut in Harefield’s grounds for Anzac troops, decorated for Christmas)

Mica Weekes underwent a life-saving heart transplant surgery 30 years ago – the same year that the Organ Donation Register was launched in the UK – following a cardiomyopathy diagnosis. Mica’s surgery was performed when she was only 11 months old by world renowned cardiothoracic surgeon, Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub. To this day, she is still a patient at Harefield Hospital and visits regularly to maintain the health of her heart and blood veseels. This year, Mica turned 31, but it was her 30th 'heart birthday' that she celebrated. She urges people to register their decision to become organ donors this Christmas so that more lives can be saved. Read Mica's story: https://lnkd.in/ewgKJw6j Register your organ donation decision: https://lnkd.in/g9Tpfjf #NHS #OrganDonation #Transplant Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust

#OnThisDay in 1983, Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub, former cardiothoracic surgeon at Harefield Hospital, performed Europe's first ever heart and lung transplant. 🎧 Listen back to the pilot episode of our podcast 'More Than A Hospital', where Professor Yacoub reflects on this incredible medical milestone which contributed to the life-saving transplantation work of today: https://lnkd.in/e8cQbH8d #Transplant #NHS #OrganDonation

Last week, we saw the unveiling of our new and improved restaurant at Royal Brompton Hospital - now called the 'Brompton Flavours'! 🍽️ Our award-winning catering team and rb&hArts team worked together with artist Melissa Hartley to produce new bold designs, as well as a new concept, for the hospital's restaurant, which centred around fresh ingredients and diverse flavours. Nuno Matias, catering services manager at Royal Brompton, says: "At Royal Brompton, we provide our patients with freshly prepared meals every day. We encourage them to dine in the day rooms on the wards, but we also invite them to visit our restaurant with their families to enjoy a change of scenery. "Our vision was to make the restaurant a more welcoming space where patients, staff and visitors can feel at ease and enjoy their meals in a pleasant environment. "We are thrilled with the results, as staff, patients, and visitors have been praising the transformation of the restaurant over the past two years." #Catering #NHS

This week was our Annual Research Showcase! Now in its 18th year, the showcase is a staple of the research calendar at our hospitals and is an opportunity to celebrate some of the incredible research undertaken by staff across adult and paediatric heart, lung and critical care research. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pacemaker dependence, and dietetic interventions were just some of the many fascinating topics highlighted at the showcase. Congratulations to this year’s winners: ⭐ Rachel Buchan, genomics research associate - ‘Most innovative’ ⭐ Rasleen Kahai, respiratory dietitian - ‘Greatest patient benefit’ ⭐ George Edwards, research practitioner - ‘Early career researcher’ ⭐ Christian Wise, cardiac physiologist - ‘Staff favourite’ ⭐ Irene Berrar Torre, asthma clinical nurse specialist – ‘Director’s choice’ Read more about the annual research showcase and this year’s winners: https://lnkd.in/e7PzgsJm

Congratulations to Tracy Newland, outpatient services manager for respiratory outpatients at Harefield Hospital, for winning as 'Service Manager of the Year' in the 2024 Love Admin Awards! 👏 Colleagues who nominated Tracy highlighted: "Tracy has an open-door policy and if you ask most people, Tracy will have helped them at some time during her 25-year career. She puts patients at the heart of everything she does. She is on first name terms with many of them, having built rapport with them over the years." #TeamGSTT #LoveAdmin

Patients at Royal Brompton Hospital will benefit from a new diagnostic scanner, the VERITON-CT Solid State Gamma Camera, the first-of-its-kind in a London NHS Hospital. The new state-of-the-art scanner combines SPECT (single-photon emission computed tomography) and CT imaging and will enable high quality, faster 3D diagnostic scans for children and adults, reducing the number of additional tests required for diagnostic purposes. Dr Kshama Wechalekar, Royal Brompton lead consultant for Nuclear Medicine, said: “I am truly excited to have this new technology in our department for our patients. Not only will patients have an improved experience during their scan, but the results delivered will be of the highest clinical standards that will enable optimisation of treatment and improve clinical outcomes. “Crucially, the new camera will also open the door to a several new research programmes for heart, lung, or any other organ imaging.” The new Gamma Camera scanner was made possible thanks to the support of Royal Brompton & Harefield Hospitals Charity.   Read more about the camera: https://lnkd.in/ew_TVkNQ #Innovation #NHS

It's Love Admin Week at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust 💜 Every year we spotlight the fantastic work of our admin and clerical staff at the Trust who support with delivering high-quality patient care. Meet Jenna, a cystic fibrosis digital and registry co-ordinator, who was the winner of last year's Everyday Excellence Award. She tells us about her role in the adult cystic fibrosis team at Royal Brompton Hospital and what winning a Love Admin Award means to her. Read Jenna's story: https://lnkd.in/eWryHRHS #TeamGSTT #LoveAdmin