About us

Royal Papworth Hospital is the UK's leading heart and lung hospital, treating more than 50,000 patients each year. The hospital has established an international reputation for excellence in research and innovation, treating a range of complex cardiothoracic conditions each year from across the UK and internationally.

Following an inspection carried by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) out in 2019, Royal Papworth Hospital became the first hospital in England to receive the top rating of ‘outstanding’ in each of the five main domains.

Royal Papworth carries out more major heart operations than any other hospital in the UK, currently more than 2,500 per year and is one of only a handful of centres globally which regularly performs Pulmonary Endarterectomy (PEA) surgery for the treatment of Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension (CTEPH) and has an established international training programme to share its expertise in this area. The hospital also has a dedicated Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) centre and has been providing highly acclaimed, international courses for ECMO training for the last ten years.

Following 100 years of providing the UK with a comprehensive and leading cardiothoracic medical service, in April 2019, Royal Papworth Hospital opened a new purpose-built hospital at the heart of the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.

The state-of-the-art facility was built to the very highest international medical standards and has been clinically designed with patients in mind. The state-of the-art facilitates include: 310 beds, all single rooms, 5 theatres, 5 catheter laboratories and 2 hybrid theatres, servicing both complex surgery and/or cardiology procedures. The location of the new hospital on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus provides the UK with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to develop a world-class research institute for heart and lung disease (HLRI) in partnership with the University of Cambridge expanding opportunities on which the treatments of tomorrow will be based. This facility is due for completion in spring 2022.

Royal Papworth International

Partnership working is at Royal Papworth’s core; to achieve excellence, hospitals need to reach out and build strong clinical relationships across organisational boundaries throughout the globe and access the very best training and education. As well as a proven track record of providing excellent international consultancy for cardiothoracic disease, Royal Papworth is in the unique position to offer expert advice on clinical planning within a new hospital.

Throughout our history Royal Papworth has always worked with international partners and centres to develop cardiothoracic medicine. We are well placed to provide clinical assessment of cardiothoracic services and implementation planning within international healthcare markets. Over the last 3 years we have provided training to 72 international hospitals across Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the Americas. In addition, Royal Papworth consultants provide education courses across the globe and we are recognised as world leaders in this field.

We offer tailored packages to the individual’s specialist interests and to the level of training appropriate to their skill set. Our international outlook means we benefit from these programmes by establishing long term relationships with other high performing tertiary centres and well regarded clinicians across the globe to enable shared learning and innovation. This has driven the pioneering spirit that makes Royal Papworth the excellent organisation that it is today. Many international institutions choose to send their patients to Royal Papworth for treatment in its private patient clinic where patients will be seen and treated by its expert consultant staff in comfortable surroundings.

Royal Papworth Hospital is a member of Cambridge University Health Partners, a partnership with one of the world’s leading Universities. Cambridge University Health Partners delivers world-class excellence in healthcare, research, clinical education and improves the health of people across the UK.