New Health Minister visits St Bartholomew’s Hospital
The new Minister of State for Health Chris Skidmore MP visited St Bartholomew’s Hospital on Tuesday 13 August.
The Minister, who was appointed to the role in July 2019, met with staff and patients and learnt more about the range of world-leading cardiac and cancer services the hospital provides.
After meeting with Barts Health NHS Trust’s Group Chief Executive Alwen Williams and St Bartholomew’s Hospital’s Chief Executive Professor Charles Knight, the Minister received a tour of Barts Heart Centre – the largest specialised cardiovascular centre in Europe.
The Heart Centre, which opened in 2015, serves around six million people and has state-of-the-art facilities including 10 cath labs and 10 theatres.
The Centre, which is housed in the hospital’s new King George V wing, performs more heart surgery, MRI and CT scans than any other in the world.
The Minister also spent time in the radiotherapy department at Barts Cancer Centre.
The Centre, which is the second biggest of its kind in London, boasts some of the world’s most up-to-date diagnostic and treatment facilities.
Also based in the hospital’s King George V wing, Barts Cancer Centre provides cancer services to more than 1.5 million people from across east London, the south and east of England, as well as being a tertiary referral centre for some specialist national services.
Chris Skidmore, Minister for Health, said: “It was fantastic to meet staff at St Bartholomew’s Hospital and see first-hand some of the pioneering services in cardiac and cancer.
"We want to make sure we are detecting cancers more quickly and providing earlier treatment to this cruel disease, and I was delighted to see how St Bartholomew’s services are helping us become a global leader in this."
Professor Charles Knight, Chief Executive of St Bartholomew’s Hospital said:
“I was delighted to welcome the new Minister to St Bartholomew’s Hospital today to showcase the range of cutting-edge services and research provided here and the outstanding work of our staff.
“I was proud to talk with the Minister about the evolution of our hospital into the world-leading centre it is today and to look ahead to our 900th anniversary in 2023.”