PRESS RELEASE 8 September 2017
Harefield Hospital holds open day for local residents
Harefield Hospital is to throw open its doors and give local people an exclusive look behind the scenes of its world-class operating theatres on Tuesday 19th September as part of its biennial open day.
Harefield Hospital is one of the top centres in the country for complex heart and lung transplant surgery, carrying out over 60 transplant operations last year.
During the day, experts in surgical and theatre practice will give interactive demonstrations on a variety of the procedures and equipment they use, including:
- intubation (inserting a tube into a patient’s airway to help them breathe)
- cannulation (a method of gaining access to a vein to take blood or give medication)
- thoracoscopy (a procedure that lets a doctor examine inside a patient’s chest without the need for invasive surgery)
- endoscopic vein harvesting (a less invasive way to acquire healthy vein tissue from a patient to use in a heart bypass)
- cardio-pulmonary bypass machines (special machines that temporarily do the work of a patient’s heart and lungs while they undergo surgery).
Former Harefield patients will also share their stories of how surgery has changed their lives.
Clair Mullins, who oversees the hospital’s operating theatres, said: “Even though we do some extremely specialist work here, with professional links to all corners of the world, we know that Harefield Hospital has a special place within the local community.
“As in previous years, anyone is welcome to attend, whether you are a patient, carer, relative or friend, a budding future healthcare provider or just curious to take a peek behind the scenes of a working hospital.”
“We’re excited to have this opportunity to open our doors and show residents what we’re all about. We are sure people will find the day interesting, and perhaps some of our visitors will even be inspired to join the next generation of pioneering healthcare specialists.”
There is no need to book: anyone interested in taking part should simply arrive in the operating theatre patient reception area at the hospital between 10am and 3pm.
Ends
Notes to editors
For further information contact:
Oliver Wilkinson
Deputy Head of Communications
Tel: 020 7351 8672 / 07866 536 345
Email: o.wilkinson@rbht.nhs.uk
Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust is the UK’s largest specialist centre for the treatment of heart and lung disease. Working from two sites, Royal Brompton Hospital in Chelsea, West London, and Harefield Hospital, near Uxbridge, the Trust has an international reputation for the expertise of its staff, high standard of care and research success. Experts at the Trust help patients from all age groups who have heart and lung problems and provide some of the most complex surgery and sophisticated treatments available anywhere in the world.
The Trust is the UK’s largest centre for the treatment of adult congenital heart disease and is the country’s leading provider of specialist respiratory care. Over the years the Trust has been responsible for major medical breakthroughs, such as the UK’s first combined heart and lung transplant. It established the UK’s first adult service for cystic fibrosis, which is now one of Europe’s biggest treatment centres for the condition, and has pioneered the use of primary angioplasty for the treatment of heart attacks. Today the Heart Attack Centre at Harefield has one of the fastest arrival-to-treatment times in the UK, a crucial factor in patients’ survival.
As a member of the Academic Health Science Centre (AHSC), in collaboration with Imperial College London, Imperial College Healthcare Trust and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, the Trust helps to drive innovation and improved care for over 1.1 million patients each year in North West London, by aligning the research, education and clinical services of the partner organisations. For more information, visit: www.rbht.nhs.uk/about/ourwork/imperial-college-academic-health-science-…