Barts Heart & Thorax Centres

Established in 2015 through the merger of cardiothoracic services from the London Chest Hospital, St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, and The Heart Hospital, the Barts Heart and Thorax Centres together form the largest cardiothoracic centre in the UK.

St. Bartholomew’s has 10 operating theatres, 10 catheter laboratories, and more than 300 dedicated cardiac, vascular, and thoracic beds, providing world-class care for patients across London and beyond.

Cardiac & Thoracic Surgery

• Cardiac Surgery: Over 2,000 procedures annually, including coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), valve repair and replacement, minimally invasive and robotic-assisted approaches, complex aortic surgery, and adult congenital cases.

• Thoracic Surgery: Over 1,200 operations each year, encompassing open resections, robotic-assisted and video-assisted thoracoscopic (VATS) surgery, and advanced bronchoscopic procedures.

• Cardiology: Home to the UK’s largest TAVI programme, Europe’s largest electrophysiology service, and a comprehensive portfolio of PCI and structural interventions.

Critical Care

St. Bartholomew’s Hospital has 58 critical care beds, with more than half dedicated to cardiothoracic surgical patients. Our surgical critical care units are co-located with the theatre complex to ensure seamless, high-acuity support.

Facilities include:

• Two cardiothoracic intensive care units

• One high-dependency unit

• A general intensive care unit managing complex surgical, cardiology, respiratory, oncology, and haematology patients, and providing a busy ECMO service.

Anaesthesia & Perioperative Medicine

The Perioperative Medicine Department (POM) delivers comprehensive anaesthetic, perioperative, and critical care services for all surgical and interventional cardiology patients at St Bartholomew’s Hospital.

Key services include:

• High-risk anaesthetic pre-assessment clinics

• Acute and transitional pain services for inpatients and outpatients

• Consultant-led care supported by senior fellows, specialty trainees, and clinical fellows (approximately 50 consultants in total).

Education & Research

As part of Barts Health NHS Trust and affiliated with Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, the department plays a leading role in medical education and clinical research.

We host anaesthetic and perioperative medicine trainees, deliver structured departmental teaching, and collaborate in national and international research programmes to advance perioperative care.

Location

Located in the heart of the City of London—close to St Paul’s Cathedral, Smithfield Market, the Barbican, and Farringdon. Our site blends historic architecture, including the iconic St Bartholomew’s Quadrangle, with state-of-the-art clinical facilities such as the redeveloped King George V Building.