CHAIN OF HOPE - Key Persons
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- International Child Referral Programme Coordinator
Caitlin joined Chain of Hope in 2023, with over 15 years of experience working with cause-driven organisations around the world. With a background in International Relations and International Human Rights Law, she brings a unique perspective to our International Child Referral Programme. Caitlin is responsible for planning and coordinating every aspect of a child's journey from their home country to one of our partner hospitals for life-saving heart surgery, and works to build our international network of volunteer medical escorts who can accompany our most at-risk patients on their journeys.
Chain of Hope does an incredibly valuable job, treating children with life-threatening heart disease in developing countries. I am delighted to be a link in the chain, alongside many dedicated medics and committed supporters, as together we help to save the lives of these children.
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- Surgeon at the UMC Utrecht
Dariel has been the Finance Manager for Chain of Hope since 2020. She joined Chain of Hope after 15 years working in charity finance roles including the Royal College of Emergency Medicine.
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- Member of the Medical Committee
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- Co - Chair of the Medical Committee
- Consultant
- Southampton University Hospital Trust
Dr Magee undertook his medical degree at Queen's University, Belfast. Following this Dr Magee trained at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, one of the largest and most prestigious children's hospitals in the world, where he specialised in the catheter treatment of children with congenital heart disease.
After working 13 years as Consultant Paediatric Cardiologist at The Royal Brompton and Harefield Trust, in 2013 Dr Magee was appointed Consultant Paediatric Cardiologist at Southampton University Hospital. Dr Magee has been involved with Chain of Hope for many years not only serving on the Board of Trustees but also through undertaking overseas missions, and through his involvement in the Child Referral Board which he chaired for five years.
In particular Dr Magee instigated the training of two cardiologists from Jamaica and worked with The Royal Brompton Hospital and Chain of Hope to create two cardiology fellowships. Dr Magee continues to mentor these two cardiologists at the Bustamante Hospital for Children, Jamaica, through regular visits to the hospital.
Dr Alan Magee is a Consultant Paediatric Cardiologist at Southampton University Hospital, specialising in Interventional Cardiology for patients suffering from Congenital Heart Disease. Dr Magee also sits on the Council for the British Cardiology Society and is Chair of the SAC in Paediatric Cardiology at the Royal College of Physicians. Dr Magee is integral to Chain of Hope Cardiology training programmes, where he leads the development of Interventional catheterisation Services in Jamaica. Dr Magee acts as mentor to Chain of Hope cardiology trainees during their placements in the UK, as well as conducting training missions to projects including Jamaica, Ethiopia, Mozambique and Egypt. Over the course of the 10 years that Dr Magee has been involved with Chain of Hope, he has provided life saving treatment for hundreds of children not only through cardiac missions, but also through the Child Referral programme through which he treats children for free in UK Hospitals. In addition to this, Dr Magee sits on the Chain of Hope Trustee Board and actively fundraises for Chain of Hope
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- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Member of the Medical Committee
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- Chairman
- Member of the Medical Committee
- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
Dr Wright co-founded Chain of Hope with Sir Magdi in 1995 and has led some 30 overseas medical missions. Dr Wright has sat on the Board of Trustees form the beginning and was voted Chairman in 2012. In 2007, Dr Gavin Wright was nominated for one of the heroes of the year in The Independent, highlighting the exceptional lengths he takes in his overseas voluntary work with Chain of Hope.
Born and raised in Zimbabwe, Dr Wright graduated in Medicine from the University of Rhodesia and went on to specialise in Anaethesia in South Africa working with greats such as Christian Bernhart. Moving to the UK in 1986, Dr Wright has worked on the world's leading transplant programme of its time at Harefield Hospital alongside Sir Magdi Yacoub. Since living in the UK, Dr Wright has worked at some of the top hospitals for paediatric and cardiac care including Great Ormond Street Hospital, The Royal Brompton and Harefield Trust, Papworth Hospital and the Heart Hospital.
Dr Gavin Wright is Chairman of Chain of Hope and has worked with the charity for many years, helping to direct our training programmes in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care.
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- Basildon and Thurrock NHS Trust
Currently a Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon at Basildon and Thurrock NHS Trust, Mr Hasnat Khan became involved with Chain of Hope at its formation when he was a Cardiac Surgeon at Harefield Hospital alongside Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub. Initially participating in missions to Mozambique, Mr Khan is now heavily involved in the development of a sustainable cardiac service in Ethiopia. Specialising in mitral valve surgery for patients suffering from Rheumatic Heart Disease, Mr Khan is training the local team in the management of teenagers and young adults, many of whom have been awaiting their surgeries for over 10 years.
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- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Member of the Medical Committee
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- Member of the Medical Committee
- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Member of the Medical Committee
- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Member of the Gala Ball Committee
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- Member of the Medical Committee
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- Co - Chair of the Medical Committee
- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
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- Member of the Medical Committee
Emma holds a Masters degree in NGO management from CASS Business School in London. Her relationship with Chain of Hope began as a volunteer in 1996 and the following year she was employed as a Fundraising assistant.
Today, as the Chief Executive, Emma's role involves building relationships with the centres in which we work to ensure we are meeting our beneficiaries' needs in the right manner. Much of her role is spent building bridges with governments and decision makers in the field as well as building working relationships with international NGOs and funders.
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- Missions and Equipment Manager
Jilliane joined our team in 2015 with a wealth of expertise to offer, having recently completed her Postgraduate Studies in Biomedical Engineering and Healthcare Technology Management at City University, London. Jilliane offers broad administrative support to the Overseas Operations team, working closely with Lucy to ensure that the medical volunteers are prepared and ready for specialised training missions and that the hospitals that we work with have the equipment they need to operate. She is also helping to co-ordinate the equipment procurement for the new Cardiac Unit at the Bustamante Hospital for Children in Jamaica.
Growing up in Jamaica, I've witnessed first-hand the struggles the health sector faces due to the lack of resources. It gives me so much pride to be a part of such a fantastic organization helping my home and much of the developing world improve local paediatric cardiac care and eventually enabling them to stand on their own feet.
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- International Child Referral Programme Manager
As International Child Referral Manager, Lisa ensures the smooth transfer of patients waiting for surgery to come to one of the hospitals within Chain of Hope's network. A demanding role, there is no-one better than Lisa to act as each child's advocate to have access to urgent medical treatment. From Baghdad to Banjul, Lisa liaises with cardiac doctors worldwide who refer children for treatment through the charity's Medical Board who assess each child's viability for treatment. Once the child is in the UK, Lisa works closely with a team of volunteers to manage the child's care and safety.
A key aspect of Lisa's role is to build strong relationships with NGOs and medical teams around the world. It was through Lisa's dedication and passion that Chain of Hope supports a major project in Ethiopia to create an entire cardiac centre.
Lisa is also an avid fundraiser for Chain of Hope and has taken part in two London marathons as well as fundraising in the community.
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- Director of Operations & Special Events
Having been with Chain of Hope since 2008, Lucy has a wealth of knowledge of our overseas operations and manages a huge portfolio of medical missions, training programmes and equipment acquisition. She also plays a vital role in forming the long term strategy of our service delivery, including development of projects and identification of new countries for us to grow our support within.
In line with our membership of the Fundraising Standards Board, Lucy Ossack is our nominated complaints co-ordinator. Contact Lucy on 020 7351 1978 or via lucy@chainofhope.org
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- Research Network / Gouna Technical Nursing Institute
A world pioneer in heart surgery, Sir Magdi recently received the highest award possible from Her Majesty the Queen, the Order of Merit, for his service to humanitarian work and the fight against cardiovascular disease. Sir Magdi is also a Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Imperial College London and Director of the Magdi Yacoub Research Network which has created the Qatar Cardiovascular Research Centre in collaboration with the Qatar Foundation and Hamad Medical Corporate.
Dedicated to global healthcare delivery, Sir Magdi founded Chain of Hope in the UK in 1995, focusing on Jamaica and Egypt. Since then Sir Magdi has grown the organisation through his network of world class specialists who join in his humanitarian work to help patients in need and to pursue the vision of creating sustainable cardiac centres for countries' neglected regions.
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- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Member of the Medical Committee
Mr Egil Seem is a Consultant Paediatric Cardiac Surgeon at Oslo University Hospital in Norway where he has worked since 1990. Mr Seem has been involved with Chain of Hope since 2012 when he joined the Chain of Hope Mission to Jamaica. Specialising in both congenital and rheumatic heart disease, Mr Seem is highly skilled in treating children suffering from a large ranges of cardiac defects, from new-born babies to adolescents. Since this first mission, Mr Seem continues to join missions to Jamaica, developing their sustainable cardiac service.
Mr Wells is a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at Papworth Hospital where he has worked since 1986. His specialist area of cardiac surgical interest is the management of all forms of heart disease, especially mitral valve reconstruction. Mr Wells has the largest experience of this form of heart disease in the United Kingdom having completed over 3,000 cases, with a near 100% repair rate for leaking mitral valves. In 2005, Mr Wells pioneered a new method to repair damaged hearts inspired by artist Leonardo da Vinci. Mr Wells has worked with Chain of Hope since 2010, primarily with the Ethiopia project where there is a huge population of young adults requiring mitral valve repair as a result of Rheumatic Heart Disease. Mr Wells has also treated patients through the Child Referral Programme at Papworth Hospital.
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- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Member of the Medical Committee
- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Southampton University Hospital Trust
Jason is an English qualified solicitor with 18 years of professional experience and acts as the EMEA General Counsel for a large banking group in the asset management sector.
Jason's involvement with Chain of Hope was borne out of his wish to deploy his legal skills in the charity sector for the benefit of others, something he wished to do for many years and which would compliment his professional commitments. When looking for the "right" trustee position, he was drawn towards the healthcare sector. There was a great need and an opportunity to work with others and make a meaningful impact. Jason sought suggestions from wife, also someone working in paediatric healthcare sector, about the many fantastic charities and at this point, he was made aware of the wonderful work undertaken by Chain of Hope.
The skills obtained from many years in legal practice allow Jason to bring a fresh perspectives to the Board. In particular, a keen eye for legal, reputational and operational risk as well as a non-medical view on key issues which the charity considers in its operation.
Job Titles:
- Lead Surgeon in Neonatal Cardiac Surgery at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children
Mr Kostolny is the lead surgeon in neonatal cardiac surgery at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, where he has worked since 2006. At Great Ormond Street, Mr Kostolny performs approximately 250 operations a year and is the co-author in over 50 publications. Mr Kostolny sits on the Chain of Hope Medical Board and has recently joined the Jamaica programme where he began conducting missions in 2013.
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- Member of the Medical Committee
- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
Mr Olivier Ghez is a Consultant Paediatric Cardiac Surgeon and Chair of Children's Heart Services at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London. As a specialist in cardiac surgical care for neonatal patients, he became quickly involved with Chain of Hope following his move to London from Marseille in 2009. Mr Ghez is currently very active on the Chain of Hope Medical Board and operates on children for free at the Royal Brompton through the Chain of Hope Child Referral programme. As well as this, Mr Ghez has travelled to Jamaica on several missions, treating children requiring complex cardiac surgery at the Bustamante Hospital for Children in Kingston.
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- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Guys and St Thomas' NHS Trust
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- Lead
- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
Stan Brown is the lead perfusionist trainer for Chain of Hope. Stan has been co-ordinating training programmes to develop perfusionists within the centres where we work.
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- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Biomedical Engineer
- Lead Biomedical Engineer
- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
Yoseph Mebrate leads the Technical Support Team in Clinical Engineering at the Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust. Yoseph has helped establish an onsite equipment management and preventative maintenance service with his team who also serve the Royal Marsden Hospital.
As lead Biomedical Engineer for Chain of Hope, Yoseph works to develop and establish biomedical engineering services to mirror his own service at the Royal Brompton Hospital, commenting that "in developing countries, resources are scarce and so building preventative maintenance programmes and in-house knowledge and expertise makes better financial and management sense than having expensive maintenance contracts with major corporations." Yoseph helps Chain of Hope recruit a team of specialists who can go overseas and teach modules on different types of equipment.
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- Member of the Gala Ball Committee
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- Member of the Gala Ball Committee
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- Vice Chair of the Gala Ball Committee
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- Member of the Gala Ball Committee
- Co - Chair )
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- Member of the Gala Ball Committee
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- Member of the Gala Ball Committee
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- Member of the Nursing Committee
- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Member of the Gala Ball Committee
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- Vice Chair of the Gala Ball Committee
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- Member of the Gala Ball Committee
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- Member of the Gala Ball Committee
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- Chairman of the Gala Ball Committee
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- Member of the Gala Ball Committee
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- Member of the Gala Ball Committee
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- Member of the Gala Ball Committee
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- Southampton University Hospital Trust
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- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Member of the Medical Committee
- Head of Congenital Cardiac Surgery at Leeds General Infirmary
Ms Van Doorn is head of congenital cardiac surgery at Leeds General Infirmary and has been involved with Chain of Hope for over 10 years. She has led missions to Mozambique, Ethiopia and Aswan, treating hundreds of children and providing expert training to local teams in the field of both congenital and rheumatic cardiac surgery. Ms. Van Doorn has been heavily involved in the Aswan surgical training programme, where she travels once per month to train the local surgeons in the treatment of complex surgical cases. She also leads the paediatric programme in Ethiopia alongside Professor Yacoub. Ms Van Doorn also treats children through the Chain of Hope Child referral Programme, primarily at the Harley Street Clinic in London. Ms Van Doorn assists Chain of Hope with its strategic planning and is an essential member of the Chain of Hope Medical team. Ms Van Doorn is also a member of the Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery (GB and Ireland), The European Association of Cardiothoracic Surgery, and The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (USA).
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- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Basildon and Thurrock NHS Trust
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- Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust
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- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Southampton University Hospital Trust
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- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Member of the Nursing Committee
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- Member of the Nursing Committee
- Biomedical Engineer Committee
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- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust
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- Chairman of the Nursing Committee
- Nurse
- Lead Nurse
Maura is a senior Paediatric Cardiac Nurse Manager at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children. Maura sits on the Chain of Hope Nursing Board and also directs nursing training programmes in Ethiopia, Jamaica and Uganda.
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- Member of the Gala Ball Committee
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- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Member of the Gala Ball Committee
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- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Member of the Gala Ball Committee
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- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
Professor Paulus Schoof is a Consultant Paediatric Cardiothoracic Surgeon at the UMC Utrecht in the Netherlands, where he has worked since 2009. Prior to this, he was head of the department of Paediatric Cardiac Surgery at Radboud University Hospital in Nijmegen. Specialising in both congenital and rheumatic heart disease, Professor Schoof first became involved with Chain of Hope in 2010 as part of the Aswan surgical programme where he joined a mission and donated his time to treating patients suffering from extremely complex congenital heart disease. Since then, Professor Schoof has also become part of the development programme in Addis Ababa Ethiopia, to where he travels alongside a team of highly skilled volunteers to operate on children and young adults at the Cardiac Centre of Ethiopia.
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- Member of the Medical Committee
- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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- Head of the Paediatric Cardiology Service at the Evelina Children 's Hospital
- Professor
Professor Shakeel Qureshi is a Consultant Paediatric Cardiologist at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, with a major expertise and interest in cardiac catheter interventions. Over the last three decades, he has been at the forefront in interventional catheter techniques. For the last twenty years, he has been dedicated to developing interventional paediatric cardiology in developing countries around the world and has helped to develop many units. His contribution was recognised by the President of Pakistan with a civil award (Sitara-e-Imtiaz) in 2004. For the past ten years, he has been committed to a similar role helping Chain of Hope. He has led interventional teams to countries such as Ethiopia, Egypt and Uganda, to treat children and train cardiologists.
Professor Qureshi is head of the paediatric cardiology service at the Evelina Children's Hospital, part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. Specialising in interventional cardiology and co-inventor of the widely used Tyshak balloon, Professor Qureshi has been instrumental in the training of Chain of Hope cardiologists in Ethiopia and Uganda. Professor Qureshi originally became involved with Chain of Hope through the Child Referral Programme, treating children at the Evelina Children's Hospital. Since then, he has conducted medical missions to Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt, providing lifesaving treatment to children and training local medical professionals. Professor Qureshi was nominated the President of the Association of European Paediatric Cardiology in 2012 and sits on the editorial board of seven medical journals. In 2004, Professor Qureshi was awarded the Sitara-e-Imtiaz by the Pakistan Government, one of the highest civil awards, for his services to medicine.
Vibeke first became involved with Chain of Hope in 2009 when she was invited to participate in a surgical mission to Jamaica. Vibeke Hjortdal is Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Denmark, specializing in congenital heart diseases. She holds a PhD and is a Doctor of Medical Sciences. Professor Hjortdal has been knighted by the Queen of Denmark and is a member of the Order of the Dannebrog.
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- Chief of Paediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children
- Professor
Noted as one of the UK's top 100 surgeons in the Sunday Times, 2005, Professor Tsang joined the Board of Trustees in 2007 after volunteering as a specialist surgeon and project lead for the charity's programme in Jamaica. Professor Tsang is the chief of paediatric cardiothoracic surgery at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and specialises in neonatal cardiac surgery as well as GUCH surgery.
Professor Tsang remains extremely active in all areas of his speciality having published hundreds of articles on the topic as well as lecturing widely around the world, including co-authoring the manual on congenital heart disease (CHD) with Professor Marc de Leval, a book that has turned into the bible of diagnostics for CHD worldwide.
Professor Victor Tsang is chief of paediatric cardiothoracic surgery at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London, where he has worked for 14 years. Recognised in The Times newspaper as one of the world's top surgeons, Professor Tsang has worked with Chain of Hope since 2002 and has led the Chain of Hope Jamaica Programme since 2009. Specialising in both congenital and rheumatic heart disease, Professor Tsang has participated in almost 20 missions with Chain of Hope, treating hundreds of children and has been integral in the development of the Jamaican paediatric cardiac service. In addition to this and his work as a Chain of Hope Trustee, Professor Tsang sits on the Chain of Hope Medical Board and provides surgery for children at the Harley Street Clinic, through the Chain of Hope International Child Referral Programme.