Following a year of fundraising and a period of refurbishment, both in the middle of a pandemic, the team behind the improvements to Cath Lab 2 at Harefield Hospital were keen to thank supporters of the Lifeline Lab appeal with a tour of their new space.

Over 2020 and 2021 we raised £569,000 to furnish this new lab with high spec imaging equipment. The new equipment will future proof Harefield Hospital for developments and innovation in cath lab procedures for the next ten years and will reduce downtime between procedures, all whilst treating patients more effectively, more efficiently and more safely.

In the evening of Thursday 24 February we were joined by supporters, funders and hospital staff who came to hear the project’s team talk about the design of the lab and what it would mean for the heart patients at Harefield Hospital.

Mark Bowers, Divisional Intervention Lead, talked us through the capabilities of the new imaging equipment. He produced side by side comparisons of the images achieved by the new Seimens scanner and the older equipment. He said: “There’s a huge difference in resolution and image clarity. Image sharpness rates are really important to the cath lab team when they’re undertaking these complex procedures.”  

I’d like to thank you all, the Charity donors, for making this happen. With this bit of kit, we can offer high end procedures and save more lives in the process.

Rizwan Khan, Capital Project Manager, discussed the design and build of the new lab. Finally, Dr David Jones, Consultant Cardiologist and Cath Lab Director, dialled into the cath lab cameras in real time to give us a virtual tour and demonstrated the potential the new lab had for training and cath lab simulations.

Richard Bowyer commented: “What struck me as we listened to the presentation was the training and education implications of what we have achieved here. Not only are we thinking about the patients who are using the hospitals at the moment, but we are also training the next generation of clinicians to help the patients of the future.”