20th Anniversary Celebrations
8th September 2014
Sponsored by Take Heart and Children’s Heart Surgery Fund
It was fitting to mark the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of the Yorkshire Heart
Centre in Leeds General Infirmary in the beautiful old building in Great George
Street. This was a celebration to which surgeons, consultants, matrons and
sisters from the current and ‘old’ organisation, patients who have undergone
surgery during this time and those associated with the inauguration of this
superb organisation were invited.
On display were photographs and momentos of times gone by together with
brand new high-tech equipment used in surgical heart operations.
Julian Hartley, Chief Executive Officer of the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS
Trust gave a talk outlining the achievements of the Heart Centre since its
inception citing the fact that they have performed more than 25,000 heart surgery
operations, more than 100,000 cardiology interventional catheter procedures and more than 1,100
Transcatheter aortic valve implantation(TAVI) procedures. YHC is the biggest provider in the country
for this service. He paid tribute to the wonderful staff who always put patients first.
Julian then introduced a multitude of fascinating speakers who reminisced about the history of
developments in Heart surgical treatment including Philip Kay, retired Acquired Congenital Cardiac
Surgeon, Kevin Watterson, retired Congenital Cardiac Surgeon, Jim McLenachan, Clinical Director
Cardio-Respiratory Clinical Service Unit, Gina McGawley, General Manager Cardio-Respiratory Clinical
Service Unit and Take Heart Chairman. Sara Matley, Children’s Heart Surgery Fund Trustee, Betsy
Evans, Clinical Lead Acquired Cardiac Surgery and many more.
The event was marked with a live BBC feed to the evening news bulletin and to Leeds TV Channel.
The photographs show some of the celebrations - click on a photo to enlarge
Bill Stevenson
Trustee
Last photograph courtesy of Leeds Hospital Trust
