The Prime Minister Gordon Brown has praised Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Trust in an official visit to open Royal Brompton Hospital’s new £2.2 million magnetic navigation catheter laboratory, the most advanced of its kind in Europe.

 

The state-of-the-art laboratory will be used by experts at the hospital to treat patients with complex congenital heart defects (abnormalities of the heart present from birth) and arrhythmias (when the heart beats too fast, too slow or irregularly).

 

 

Speaking to hospital staff and national media and marking the 60^th anniversary of the founding of the NHS, he said, "It’s a great privilege to be at Royal Brompton Hospital this morning to open the new lab which is at the front-end of research in the UK and Europe. It was a pleasure to meet some of the patients who have benefited from the groundbreaking technology and to see what a wonderful hospital this is. I thank all the staff for what they do."

 

The Prime Minister was given a live demonstration of how the new technology works by Trust expert Dr Sabine Ernst.  She explained how specially trained cardiologists operate the magnetic navigation catheter lab using two large permanent magnets which are positioned either side of the patient to create a uniform magnetic field in the chest.

 

Using a remote control system and a series of high-tech screens, they can guide special highly flexible magnetic catheters around the heart with expert precision. In addition to the degree of precision provided by the use of remote control and high-tech 3D mapping technology, exposure to X-ray for both patients and staff is greatly reduced. Some complex procedures can also now be carried out using one catheter instead of four, which is more comfortable for patients.

 

 

The Prime Minister also met nursing staff and Stephen Pennington and Frances Severne, two patients who have already benefited from the new lab. 

 

Stephen Pennington, who suffered from atrial fibrillation, said, “This hospital has been second to none and the staff have been fantastic.  I have so much faith in Dr Sabine Ernst who was in charge of my treatment and from the outset she really inspired me with confidence in the technology she was using and my treatment.  Four days after my operation I was out and about – the recovery time was incredible.”

 

Commenting on the launch of the new lab, Bob Bell, chief executive of Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Trust, said, “Our specialist cardiologists and new facilities will be the envy of hospitals across Europe and we look forward to welcoming the many patients who will benefit from this new service.”

 

At full capacity, the new lab could be used to treat between 750 and 1,000 patients per year.  Approximately 4,600 babies in the UK are born with congenital heart disease annually and cardiac arrhythmias affect more than one million people each year.

 

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Read our web pages on the magnetic navigation.

Read our website profile of Dr Sabine Ernst.

See a photo gallery of Gordon Brown's visit.

Read the National Institute for Health Research story on the Prime Minister's visit.