The Duke of Edinburgh has been transferred to a hospital which is a centre of excellence for cardiac care.

St Bartholomew’s Hospital, part of Barts Health NHS Trust, is in the City of London close to St Paul’s Cathedral, and is Britain’s oldest hospital.

Barts Heart Centre, based in the hospital’s state-of-the-art King George V building, is Europe’s largest specialised cardiovascular centre, according to the NHS website.

It has 10 theatres, 10 cath labs and more than 300 general, cardiac and critical care beds.

The NHS said the centre aspires to perform more heart surgery, MRI and CT scans than any other service in the world.

A specialist heart attack centre delivers dedicated emergency care 24 hours a day, with rapid access to a team with specialist expertise and equipment.

Duke of Edinburgh admitted to hospital
Staff shield the exit with umbrellas alongside an ambulance outside the rear of King Edward VII’s Hospital in London where the Duke of Edinburgh was admitted on the evening of Tuesday, February 16 (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

In January 2020 the service was rated number one for cardiac arrest survival rates in London, according to the NHS website.

The website says St Bartholomew’s is Britain’s oldest hospital, set to celebrate its 900th birthday in 2023.

The Barts Health NHS Trust website says it is “one of the country’s leading specialist cardiac centres, offering state-of-the-art treatments for the full range of heart conditions”.

The trust provides cardiovascular services from Barts Heart Centre at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, Newham University Hospital, The Royal London Hospital and Whipps Cross University Hospital.

The website adds: “We serve our local communities across London and Essex, but also treat people from the rest of the UK.

“Our patients come first and we provide the highest standards of care in truly world-class facilities.

“Our multi-disciplinary teams aim to give you the best possible care, in comfortable surroundings, with access to the very latest investigations and treatments.

“You’ll be in good hands – our survival rates are well above the national average.”