Barts Thorax Centre

Barts Thorax Centre

At the Barts Thorax Centre, we place the patient at the heart of what we do. In many hospitals, patients travel between different specialists, from respiratory physicians to thoracic surgeons to oncologists.

We bring all the specialists in chest conditions under one roof, so that you are looked after by the whole chest team rather than just your specialists.

We have respiratory physicians, thoracic surgeons and thoracic oncologists, who are leaders in their field, supported behind the scenes with our specialist thoracic pathologists and radiologists. This way we ensure you get the best opinion at all times.

Our services

We offer assessment and treatment of the full range of conditions of the chest, from lung conditions to airway conditions and chest wall conditions. All our wards and clinics are multidisciplinary and a specialist opinion is never far away. By working closely together, we make sure your care is coordinated, and if needed, your care moves seamlessly between the different specialists.

We share our home with Barts Heart Centre, a world-renowned cardiovascular centre and the largest in Europe. Our heart doctors work very closely with the thorax centre team. If you require assessment or treatment of your heart condition whilst with us, this can be arranged quickly and easily without needing to travel to another hospital, reducing the wait, inconvenience and delay to your treatment.

Our facilities

We have state-of-the art equipment and technology. We are the regional Cyberknife treatment centre and the only centre in the UK with a dedicated Da Vinci Xi robot (the most advanced robot) dedicated to thoracic surgery operations.

We are one of the only centres in the world performing cancer treatment with navigation bronchoscopy and a regional mesothelioma centre offering radical surgery for mesothelioma under the MARS-2 trial.

We have a hybrid theatre dedicated to cardiothoracic surgery and an active intraoperative localisation programme developing ways to find and treat small, very early lung cancers, before they spread.

We have a very active research programme, from improving current treatments to developing new treatments.

We are recognised regional training centres for navigation bronchoscopy, robotic surgery, image-guided thoracic surgery and cyberknife radiosurgery.

Thoracic Physiotherapy

Who are we 

Our therapy team collaborates closely with surgeons, physicians, and the multi-disciplinary team to provide exceptional care. We comprise specialised physiotherapists and occupational therapists who offer high-quality assessments and evidence-based treatments to prevent breathing complications and aid recovery. Our goal is to promote patient-led care, physical health, and safe discharge home.

For patients

Our team works in the Thorax Centre, providing post-operative care and support to patients in the intensive care unit, high-dependency unit, and the thoracic surgery ward (4C). We offer advice on breathing techniques, mobility, exercise, and functional independence, and aim to improve patients' knowledge and understanding of essential activities to ensure a good recovery. We also aim to mobilise and aid the expectoration of secretions, reduce breathlessness, maintain or improve exercise tolerance, advise on pacing, and improve physical activity, and functional abilities.

We provide onward referrals to smoking cessation services, pulmonary rehabilitation, and community therapy referrals for patients with ongoing therapy goals following their hospital discharge as indicated.

Physiotherapy Advice After Lung Surgery

Contact us

Contact our thoracic therapy team via Ward 4C on 020 3465 6586 or the in-patient therapy office on 020 3465 7373 if you have any questions.

For Clinicians

The thoracic physiotherapy team can be contacted via the cardiorespiratory therapy office on 020 3465 7373 or (via Switchboard) on Bleep 0143. 

 

Information for professionals

The thoracic surgery team can be contacted directly on 020 3765 8843. For urgent discussion or inpatient consultation, the thoracic surgery on-call doctor can be contacted via switchboard.

Referrals can be made to: Department of thoracic surgery, St Bartholomew’s Hospital, Barts Health NHS Trust, West Smithfield, London EC1A 7BE.