Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital and Charity

23/01/2026

Back in 2023, the Cardiac Surgery team at LHCH introduced a minimal access surgical approach called Endoscopic Vein Harvesting (EVH).

The Surgical Care Practitioner team, who carry out this procedure, are exceptionally proud to have completed their 1000th EVH procedure for cardiac patients since the launch of this service.

Vein harvesting forms part of the Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting procedure which is the most common procedure undertaken at LHCH and worldwide. This requires the harvesting of a vein from the leg and attaching it to the coronary artery. This is currently performed as an open procedure which requires one long incision or multiple incisions in one or both legs, with frequent associated wound complications.

The EVH approach allows the incision to be reduced to 2cm which lessens pain, blood loss, rate of infection and antibiotic use.

Congratulations to all the team involved in this excellent achievement. You can read more about this on the news page of our website.

21/01/2026

Would you like to help us improve research for patients?

We are looking for volunteers to join our Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement Group. We want your views and experiences to help us improve how we plan, deliver, and communicate research with our patients. Our goal is to carry out research with patients and the public rather than for them.

If you are a patient, friend, family, ex-patient or member of the public we would love to hear from you. We meet a few times a year to discuss and improve research at LHCH.

For more information please visit the news pages of our website or get in touch with the Research team.

20/01/2026

2016… the year we became the first specialist trust in England to receive a CQC Outstanding rating!

We also opened our brand new LHCH main entrance with the help of Professor Ray Donnelly, and welcomed Professor Sir Bruce Keogh to formally open our new Cherry Ward... and much more happened as well!

Since then, the last 10 years has seen a second Outstanding rating, other new wards, great innovations, transformational services, and hundreds of thousands of patients and families cared for by our outstanding teams… perhaps even you or a loved one.

From 2016 to 2026 and looking forward to the years ahead, our surgical, medical, clinical services, support staff and volunteers — are all still here with the same commitment to providing you with the very best care possible.

#2016

16/01/2026

We’d like to end the week by introducing you to previous patient and LHCH Charity supporter, Daisy.

After suffering from a collapsed lung, Daisy was brought into the care of LHCH and in November last year, underwent surgery. Now just 4 months after surgery, Daisy will be taking on the challenge of running the Chester 10k on 8th March!

Here, Daisy tells her story:

“At the end of August last year, my lung collapsed for the first time. At first, I honestly thought it was just a stitch or something I’d pulled while exercising but it wasn’t until the pain got worse throughout the day that I realised something wasn’t right.

“I was seen and treated at my local hospital and for a while it actually seemed to be improving. But in September, I suddenly experienced a really sharp pain again and ended up back in A&E and was told my lung collapse was double the size. As it wasn’t recovering quickly enough, that’s when I was referred to LHCH.

“I was first seen in October and we discussed undergoing a VATS pleurectomy and bullectomy. I was given the date for my surgery and that’s when it reality hit - it was daunting and felt so scary. I was admitted on 13th November to the ward known as ‘Hotel Cherry’ then went down to theatre the following morning. My surgery went really well and I spent two days on Oak Ward recovering.

“From start to finish, I was looked after so well. The theatre staff, ward teams, porters taking me down to X-ray — every single person was so kind, compassionate and genuinely caring. They truly made a not-so-nice experience so much better.

“I also can’t thank my consultant surgeon, Mr Asante-Siaw, enough for the amazing job he did with my surgery. Thanks to him, I was able to get back to the activities I love, including the gym, much faster than I ever expected.

“Even after I was discharged home, the thoracic support workers kept in touch which meant so much to me. They were lovely and made me feel completely reassured that I could reach out if I ever needed to.

“I’ll always be so grateful to LHCH for the care I received and that’s why I can’t wait to give something back and show my support for such an amazing place.”

Thanks for sharing your story with us Daisy. It’s amazing to hear of your positive experience here at LHCH and we’d like to wish you the very best of luck for March - we’re sure you’ll be amazing!

If you’d like to show Daisy some support, simply follow the link - https://shorturl.at/FkhyN

31/12/2025

We wish all of our wonderful patients, families, staff, volunteers, members, and everyone who supported us at LHCH this year a very happy and healthy 2026. 🥳💙

30/12/2025

As 2025 draws to a close, we reflect on a year where our staff and volunteers have continued to provide the best possible care and support for our patients and families.

Over the course of the year, our teams have reached service milestones, celebrated achievements and marked successes.

Back in September, we were thrilled to once again have been named one of the BEST hospitals in the country by our patients in the NHS Adult Inpatient Survey 2024.

You can read all about this along with more highlights from 2025 on our website.

27/12/2025

Wonderful to see and hear that Lionel is doing so well after the care received at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital earlier this year. Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2026 💙

Lionel Duke suffered a cardiac arrest on stage in Liverpool and was put in an induced coma.

25/12/2025

To all of our patients, families, staff, and supporters who are celebrating this year, we'd like to wish you a very and special thanks to all those working to take care of our patients today.💙

24/12/2025

“In the past 15 months, my life has been saved by the incredible teams at LHCH… twice. This Christmas, instead of being in critical care, I’ll be spending it at home with my family and I couldn’t be more grateful.”

We’d like you to meet previous patient, Gill and her wonderful grandchildren, Isabelle and Charlotte. As a way of saying thank you for the care their nanny received, the girls recently took on the Mini Santa Dash in support of LHCH Charity and raised an incredible £560!

Here, Gill tells us more of her journey as a patient at LHCH:

“In August 2023, my husband and I were meeting old friends for lunch. During the meal, I experienced a sudden severe pain in between my shoulder blades. It was like nothing I’d ever experienced, so I asked my husband to call an ambulance because I felt so ill. After being rushed to A&E, I was diagnosed with a Type B aortic dissection and transferred urgently to LHCH where Professor Mark Field and Mr Jonathan Smout placed three stents and repaired the dissection. I was discharged after 5 days and made brilliant progress. I had a lovely Christmas and appreciated life so much more.

“In October 2024, I was feeling very ill again and experienced severe chest and back pain which resulted in a 3 week stay in another hospital. Tests revealed I had sepsis and I was discharged with an arrangement for long term i.v. antibiotics at home. A few days later, I found myself once again being taken to hospital by ambulance as bacteria from the sepsis was affecting my aortic stent. So, back in LHCH Professor Field gathered together an amazing surgical team of aortic specialists, including Mr Kenawy, Miss Harrington and Mr Othman, to carry out a full thoracotomy to place an aortic graft. I remember thinking the operating room was full of people! A week before Christmas, I had the 10 hour operation and then stayed in critical care until the New Year. I was truly blown away by the superb care given by the whole critical care team and every single member of staff who supported me physically and emotionally.

“My recovery has been slow but steady and I now live by the philosophy to enjoy life in the here and now. I’m looking forward to a lovely Christmas with lots of hugs and kisses from my family and I couldn’t be prouder of my little ones for running their little legs off. A small thank-you for a hospital that has given me so much.

“LHCH is filled with the most skilled, knowledgeable and caring people. Every role matters, and every person makes a difference. I can’t praise them highly enough — thank you for giving me my life back.” 💙

A huge thank you for sharing your story with us Gill and an even bigger thank you to your wonderful grandchildren for their support. From everyone here at LHCH, we’d like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

19/12/2025

Meet Bernie and Elaine, from Wirral who are looking forward to celebrating a really special Christmas this year, after one of the most traumatic experiences of their lives on Boxing Day last year – when Bernie was rushed into Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital for emergency treatment

Elaine said: “At 8am on Boxing Day last year, Bernie had a cardiac arrest. The ambulance came but his heart had stopped, and they took him straight over to Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital, where he had another three heart attacks. I was beside myself with worry! But they were wonderful and explained what would happen and what they'd done.

“In the space of about an hour and a half, he was sitting up in bed talking to me. The treatment, care and compassion that we received was second to none. I can't speak highly enough of them, and they saved my husband's life.”

Bernie said: “I obviously wasn’t with it, but they put a balloon in through my right wrist and fed it up to my heart to open things up and then put a stent in. I don't remember very much initially. It was only later on that things started coming back to me and I thought to myself, 'is this real?'. I had no feeling of the time between then and when I left home in the ambulance. But everything they did was done in a loving, caring manner. I've never experienced it before anywhere.”

When the staff at LHCH realised that it was Bernie’s birthday and that everything was looking fine, they did everything possible to make sure he could be discharged home in time. Bernie said it felt like ‘winning the lottery’ to know he was going home.

Elaine said: “We are eternally grateful to everyone at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital who helped us – we wouldn’t have got better treatment anywhere, even if we’d paid. Last year was the worst moment of my life and I was completely traumatised. But I love Christmas and although last year was a nightmare, we decided that we’re not going to let it define us and we’re going to celebrate Christmas properly this year.”

Everyone at LHCH wishes Bernie and Elaine a very happy and health Christmas and New Year. Thank you for sharing your story with us, which you can watch in full in the Patient Stories section of the LHCH website.