NINE years ago, when it was announced that Harefield Hospital faced radical changes, there was outrage among the community and former patients.
The plan to move many of the hospital's functions to a new site in Paddington as part of a new 'super hospital' would have kept the Harefield brand but lost its rich history, effectively destroying it in the eyes of the many people who have known and loved it.
Made famous through the work of pioneering heart surgeon Sir Magdi Yacoub, Harefield Hospital had treated countless Australian soldiers during the First World War. The village's Anzac cemetery is a lasting memorial to those from that country who died.
Down the years, Harefield has had a number of celebrity patients, perhaps most famously the late Eric Morecambe, who became a staunch supporter of the hospital's work.
And when the threat loomed, through hard work and tireless campaigning, the Heart of
Harefield campaign group achieved the unthinkable - taking on the NHS and the Government and winning.
Now, nine years since the group was set up, the future of Harefield Hospital looks safer than ever before, having been granted Foundation Trust status earlier this year.
