Prince Philip has today been transferred to Britain’s oldest hospital which is among the best in the world for cardiac care.
St Bartholomew’s Hospital, close to St Paul’s Cathedral in the City of London, is Britain’s oldest hospital and will celebrate its 900th anniversary in 2023.
Barts Heart Centre, based in the hospital’s state-of-the-art King George V building, is Europe’s largest specialised cardiovascular centre, and aspires to perform more heart surgery, MRI and CT scans than any other service in the world.
Founded by a courtier of Henry I in 1123, St Bartholomew’s has provided continuous patient care on the same site for longer than any other hospital in England.
The Duke of Edinburgh was today transferred by ambulance to St Bart’s for ‘testing and observation for a pre-existing heart condition’ following a two-week stay at the King Edward VII Hospital.
Founded by a courtier of Henry I in 1123, St Bartholomew’s Hospital has provided continuous patient care on the same site for longer than any other hospital in England
At St Bart’s, a specialist heart attack centre delivers dedicated emergency care 24 hours a day, with rapid access to a team with specialist expertise and equipment
Barts Heart Centre, based in the hospital’s state-of-the-art King George V building, is Europe’s largest specialised cardiovascular centre
An ambulance is seen leaving King Edward VII Hospital in London this morning which has been treating Prince Philip
The Duke of Edinburgh during the transfer of the Colonel-in-Chief of The Rifles at Windsor Castle on July 22 last year
Prince Philip, 99, spent 14 days at the King Edward VII Hospital in Marylebone having initially been admitted for a ‘few days’ on February 16 as a precautionary measure after feeling unwell, making this his longest ever stay in hospital.
Philip – who was today said to remain ‘comfortable’ – will continue to receive treatment for the infection at St Bartholomew’s in the City of London, where he is expected to remain ‘until at least the end of the week’.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said at 12.30pm today: ‘The Duke of Edinburgh was today transferred from King Edward VII’s Hospital to St Bartholomew’s Hospital where doctors will continue to treat him for an infection, as well as undertake testing and observation for a pre-existing heart condition.
‘The Duke remains comfortable and is responding to treatment but is expected to remain in hospital until at least the end of the week.’
The Barts Heart Centre has 10 operating theatres, 10 cardiac catheter laboratories and more than 300 general, cardiac and critical care beds.
A specialist heart attack centre delivers dedicated emergency care 24 hours a day, with rapid access to a team with specialist expertise and equipment.
In January 2020 the service was rated number one for cardiac arrest survival rates in London, according to the NHS website.
Last year, Prince Charles was made patron of Barts Heritage, a charity overseeing a £15m fundraising appeal for restoring the historic North Wing and the Henry VIII Gatehouse on the hospital’s Smithfield site.
The Duke of Edinburgh was transferred from King Edward VII Hospital to St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London this morning
Police officers stand guard outside the St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London today where Prince Philip is now being treated
Police cars are pictured outside King Edward VII Hospital in London this morning where 99-year-old Philip was being treated
Philip has been patron of the British Heart Foundation since the charity was founded in 1961. In March 2017, he hosted a reception at St James’s Palace to mark 55 years in the role, during which he met volunteers, donors, researchers and supporters of the organisation.
In December 2011, the Duke had treatment for a blocked coronary artery at Papworth Hospital in Cambridgeshire, which was described as ‘a significant health scare’ by the BBC at the time.
And in October, a royal courtier revealed to the Daily Mirror that Philip had been battling a secret heart condition for 15 years. They claimed that he took regular medication with staff briefed to take him to hospital immediately if he was short of breath or dizzy.
The newspaper reported at the time that aides had been told ‘not to take no for an answer’ amid warnings that Philip could have a heart attack at any time.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited St Bartholomew’s Hospital on October 20 last year as they met medical staff and marked the launch of the nationwide ‘Hold Still’ community photography project.
Prince William and Kate Middleton met a small number of staff from the hospital, including pharmacist and photographer Joyce Duah and the two pharmacy technician colleagues she photographed writing on their PPE as they put it on, in a photograph that was selected to be in the set of 100 images taken during the lockdown.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited St Bartholomew’s Hospital on October 20 last year
Founded by a courtier of Henry I and the first centre to offer mega-voltage radiotherapy for cancer patients: The history of Britain’s oldest hospital
St Bartholomew’s Hospital has provided continuous patient care on the same site for longer than any other hospital in England
1123: St Bartholomew’s Hospital has provided continuous patient care on the same site for longer than any other hospital in England. It was founded, with the Priory of St Bartholomew, in 1123 by Rahere, formerly a courtier of Henry I.
1539: The Priory was closed as part of Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries in 1539, and although the Hospital was allowed to continue, its future was very uncertain as it had no income with which to carry out its functions.
1546: Following a petition from the citizens of London, Henry granted the hospital to the City of London in 1546, and in 1547, shortly before his death, endowed it with property to provide an income. A Board of Governors, was set up to administer the Hospital, with paid officials, a Matron and twelve Sisters, and three Surgeons who had to attend the poor daily.
1562: The first Physician was appointed in 1562. The basic constitution of the Hospital remained the same until the establishment of the National Health Service in 1948, although the medical and nursing staff increased greatly during that time. Nurses, or ‘Sisters’ helpers’, were first mentioned in 1647.
1734: Apprentices to the surgeons had ‘walked the wards’ at the hospital since at least the 17th century, and in 1734 approval was given for the hospital’s surgeons ‘to read lectures in anatomy in the dissecting-room of the Hospital’.
1914-1945: The Hospital remained open throughout the World Wars, although during World War II many services were evacuated to Hertfordshire and Middlesex.
1954: It became the first hospital in the country to offer mega-voltage radiotherapy for cancer patients.
1992: Sir Bernard Tomlinson’s Report of the Inquiry into the London Health Service proposed the closure of the hospital, but more than one million people signed a petition to save it. It remained open and in 1994 joined with The Royal London Hospital and London Chest Hospital.
1999-2012: The Royal Hospitals NHS Trust was renamed Barts and The London NHS Trust, and in 2012, when Whipps Cross and Newham University Hospitals joined the grouping, the new trust became known as Barts Health NHS Trust.
2023: The hospital will celebrate its 900th anniversary.
Source: bartshealth.nhs.uk