New resuscitation unit opens at King’s College Hospital

30 December 2011 - King’s College Hospital has officially opened its expanded resuscitation area and named it after Dr Ed Glucksman, one of its longest serving doctors.

Ed Glucksman Unit Opening

The new unit is the largest in the UK. It has ten beds, expanded from five, meaning King’s is better placed to treat patients presenting with life-threatening illnesses and injuries.

The unit is located within the hospital’s Emergency Department and is central to King’s status as a Major Trauma Centre for London, with patients from all over London regularly urgently transferred to us by road or air ambulance for treatment following road traffic collisions, assaults and falls. The unit will also treat patients that have had a stroke, as King’s is a Hyper Acute Stroke Unit.

The new unit was opened on Tuesday 20 December by Tessa Jowell MP, and dedicated to Dr Ed Glucksman, who has been a Consultant at King’s for 30 years and is currently Clinical Director for the Division of Trauma, Emergency and Acute Medicine at the Trust.

Dr Glucksman was the first consultant to be appointed as an Emergency Department specialist at King’s in 1981, and has helped to develop Emergency Medicine services and training, not just at King’s, but throughout the UK and abroad.

Tim Smart, Chief Executive at King’s, said:

“Ed’s level of dedication and commitment to King’s - and our patients - is inspiring. Throughout his many years at King’s, he has made an outstanding contribution, locally, nationally and indeed internationally, and influenced all those who have come into contact with him. The Ed Glucksman Unit is a fitting tribute to an excellent doctor and a great man”

The Emergency Department at King’s now treats over 120,000 patients every year, and is the home of Channel 4’s documentary series ’24 Hours in A&E’.

For further information please contact:
Chris Rolfe
Head of Communications
chris.rolfe@nhs.net
Extension: +44 (0)20 3299 3006
Fax: +44 (0)20 3299 3207
Notes to editors

1. King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK’s largest and busiest teaching hospitals, with nearly 7,000 staff providing around 1,000, 000 patient contacts a year. King’s has a unique profile, with a full range of local hospital services for people in the London boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark as well as specialist services to patients from further afield. The Trust is recognized internationally for its work in liver disease and transplantation, neurosciences, cardiac, haemato-oncology, stroke and major trauma. King’s also plays a key role in the training and education of medical, nursing and dental students with its academic partner, King’s College London. For more information, visit http://www.kch.nhs.uk

2. King’s College Hospital and Guy’s and St Thomas’ are both part of King’s Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC), a pioneering collaboration between King’s College London, and Guy’s and St Thomas’, King’s College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts.

King’s Health Partners is one of only five AHSCs in the UK and brings together an unrivalled range and depth of clinical and research expertise, spanning both physical and mental health. Our combined strengths will drive improvements in care for patients, allowing them to benefit from breakthroughs in medical science and receive leading edge treatment at the earliest possible opportunity.

For more information, visit http://www.kingshealthpartners.org