On March 17th 2020, a patient with Covid-19 was admitted to Royal Brompton Hospital, the first of over 450 such patients who have since been treated by our expert teams.
As the pandemic swept through the country, critically ill Covid-19 patients were transferred to Royal Brompton and Harefield from neighbouring hospitals across north west London, to benefit from the skills of our clinical teams, particularly in ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation), a form of life support that oxygenates blood outside the body.
Treating the sickest patients, not only in the region but across the country, has seen the critical care capacity at our hospitals swell significantly over the past year, as our specialist teams responded to growing patient demand. While some teams cared for patients severely hit by the pandemic, other teams ensured services such as transplantation, cardiac procedures and cancer surgery continued, leaving no corner of our hospitals untouched.
As we remember the anniversary of admitting our first Covid-19 patient one year ago, we mark the extraordinary efforts of our staff, whose commitment, dedication, sacrifice and bravery has never wavered.