The Trust's communications team works closely with newspapers, television and radio broadcasters, digital and social media and other channels to share breakthroughs in treatment, innovations in research, and the experience of patients cared for by our expert teams.
Here are some highlights from 2017/18:
May 2017
The Daily Mail highlighted the importance of professional advice for those with suspected food allergies. Consultant allergy dietitian Dr Isabel Skypala explained why a referral for proper testing is better than simply cutting foods out: "Unless you're good at replacing [the food you cut out] with things that contain similar nutrients, you could be doing more harm than good."
June 2017
The Evening Standard covered "a breakthrough in treating children with the devastating lung disease cystic fibrosis, trialled internationally including at Royal Brompton Hospital." A combination of two drugs was found to improve lung function in children aged six to 11 within 15 days and was the first to target the underlying causes of the disease rather than the symptoms.
August 2017
Research led by consultant thoracic surgeon Mr Eric Lim, which showed a rise in people who have never smoked undergoing lung cancer surgery at the Trust, featured in the national media. Mr Lim explained that as lung cancer is harder to diagnose without the "red flag" of a cigarette habit, higher death rates could be expected. The story featured in the The Times, Daily Express, The Independent and the Evening Standard.
September 2017
The Trust's cardio-oncology clinic was featured on BBC Radio 4's Inside Health and Today programmes. Consultant cardiologist Dr Alexander Lyon was joined by consultant oncologist Dr Susannah Stanway from the Royal Marsden Hospital, to discuss the effects of cancer treatments on the heart.
October 2017
Pioneering lung volume reduction procedures, undertaken at Royal Brompton, featured on BBC Radio 4's Inside Health programme. Dr Nick Hopkinson, honorary consultant chest physician, explained to the programme's million listeners how the procedures can benefit patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
November 2017
NHS England's decision to continue commissioning congenital heart disease services at Royal Brompton Hospital was covered by the Evening Standard, and ITV London TV news, other regional and TV news programmes, and Health Service Journal (HSL). The Evening Standard described the decision as a "dramatic reprieve" for Royal Brompton and described how, under the Trust's proposal, "a world-class heart and lung centre would be built beside St Thomas' campus."
December 2017
The Mail on Sunday featured patient Selwa Hussain - Harefield's first total artificial heart patient to be able to leave the confines of the hospital for spells at home - Mrs Hussain told the Mail on Sunday: "Harefield have been absolutely magnificent. They came up with a solution that allowed me to stay alive and to see New Year in with my family. For that, I am eternally grateful." Further coverage included ITV London, Sky News, the Daily Express, The Sun and Metro.
A BBC Radio 4 Inside Health special, marking the 50th anniversary of the first heart transplant, covered possible future developments in the field. Director of transplantation, Mr Andre Simon, told presenter Dr Kevin Fong that mechanical devices are evolving all the time, but the challenges of reproducing the heart artificially were significant. Mr Simon explained: "The heart beats 70 times per minute, so you can calculate how many times in an 80-year-old it has already beaten. And it cannot fail...so you need a very, very dependable device."
January 2018
Royal Brompton's ECMO (extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation) service was the headline item on Channel 5 news, during an item on flu, as they visited the hospital's intensive care unit to look at how 'a specialist unit is treating patients hardest hit by the winter flu outbreak.' Health correspondent Catherine Jones reported, to a national audience of around one million, that "when all else fails, and flu is about to claim someone's life, ECMO is the machine that can save them - technology so specialised that Royal Brompton is one of a network of just five hospitals where it's available."
February 2018
ITV London visited Royal Brompton's paediatric cardiology clinic to catch up with 14-year-old patient King-Elyon Hutchinson, who made news in 2003 when he became the youngest patient to have a pacemaker fitted, at just two days old. Explaining how King Elyon has had "seven major operations" since then, ITV London reported that all his care has come under the same paediatric consultant, Dr Jan Till.
Clinical trials of targeted lung denervation (TLD) - a procedure which destroys parts of the vagus nerve in the lungs and can help patients with COPD breathe more easily - featured in the Daily Mail. Patient Kim Burgess, a former police officer, explained to the Mail how taking part in the TLD trial, led by consultant physician Professor Pallav Shah, resulted in an improvement of lung function of 10 per cent: "massive for lungs as poor as mine."
March 2018
Harefield patient Mike Adamson shared his experience of having a new type of aortic valve replacement, performed by consultant cardiac surgeon Mr Toufan Bahrami, with the Daily Mail. With the new procedure, patients only need to spend 15 to 20 minutes on a heart-lung machine and also recover from the operation faster. Mr Adamson told the Mail: "I had the surgery in December at Harefield...I only needed to stay in hospital for a week, with just some discomfort on the first day. Three weeks after the surgery I could walk 15km and by four weeks I was able to go for my first gentle jog which was amazing."