Charles Knight is a British professor of

cardiology Cardiology () is the study of the heart. Cardiology is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery di ...

and

chief executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

St Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 by Rahere, and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by ...

, part of

Barts Health NHS Trust Barts Health NHS Trust is an NHS trust based in London, England. Established in 2012, it runs five hospitals throughout the City of London and East London, and is one of the largest NHS trusts in England. History The trust was established on ...

. In 1994 he assisted in the first percutaneous alcohol septal ablation, a non-surgical method for the treatment of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy as an alternative to open heart surgery, and subsequently specialised in the procedure. From 2010 he led the development of the Barts Heart Centre at

which opened in 2015 by merging cardiac services from the

London Chest Hospital The London Chest Hospital, located in Bethnal Green in London, adjacent to Victoria Park, Tower Hamlets, Victoria Park, was a hospital with a national reputation for treatment of Heart, cardiac and Lung, pulmonary disease. Since 1999 it had been ...

, The Heart Hospital and

. In 2020, Knight was appointed

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

NHS Nightingale Hospital London The NHS Nightingale Hospital London was the first of the NHS Nightingale Hospitals, temporary hospitals set up by NHS England for the COVID-19 pandemic. It was housed in the ExCeL London convention centre in East London. The hospital was rapi ...

, established to care for people during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In the same year he was awarded an OBE for services to the

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

and people with

heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is any disease involving the heart or blood vessels. CVDs constitute a class of diseases that includes: coronary artery diseases (e.g. angina pectoris, angina, myocardial infarction, heart attack), heart failure, ...

Education

Charles Knight trained at

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

and

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

universities.

Career

In 1994, at the Royal Brompton Hospital, he assisted

Ulrich Sigwart Ulrich Sigwart (; born 9 March 1941) is a German retired cardiologist known for his pioneering role in the conception and clinical use of stents to keep blood vessels open, and introducing a non-surgical intervention, alcohol septal ablation fo ...

with the introduction of percutaneous alcohol septal ablation, a non-surgical method for the treatment of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy, as an alternative to open heart surgery. Knight subsequently specialised in the procedure. From 2010 he led the development of the Barts Heart Centre at

which opened in 2015 by merging cardiac services from the

, The Heart Hospital and

to create one of the largest cardiac centres in Europe. In 2015 he was appointed as managing director and then chief executive of St Bartholomew’s Hospital. In March 2020, Knight was appointed

, established to care for people during the

. It was built in nine days with a 4,000 bed capacity. The following month, at a

Royal Society of Medicine The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) is a medical society based at 1 Wimpole Street, London, UK. It is a registered charity, with admission through membership. Its Chief Executive is Michele Acton. History The Royal Society of Medicine (R ...

webinar, he stated his concern over the aversion of some people to seek medical attention for problems unrelated to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. In April 2021, following Prince Phillip's discharge from Barts, Knight received flowers from the Queen, on behalf of staff at Barts on the anniversary of the first COVID-19 lockdown. In 2023 Knight gave a

Gresham College Gresham College is an institution of higher learning located at Barnard's Inn Hall off Holborn in Central London, England that does not accept students or award degrees. It was founded in 1597 under the Will (law), will of Sir Thomas Gresham, ...

lecture recounting the history of St Bartholomew's Hospital to mark its 900th anniversary.

Other roles

He was associate editor of the journal ''

Heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...

'' until 2014, and chair of the London Cardiology Speciality Training Committee. He was a member of the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of ph ...

Cardiology Speciality Advisory Committee. From 2008 to 2011 he served as honorary secretary of the British Cardiovascular Society, where he had also been a member of its training committee. He is a

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...

of Barts Heritage,

Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of ph ...

, and is an honorary professor at the William Harvey Research Institute at

Queen Mary University of London Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and formerly Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public university, public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University ...

Awards

In July 2020, he received the Freedom of the City of London for his work during the COVID-19 pandemic. In October 2020, he was awarded an OBE for services to the

and people with

Selected publications

He has published over 100 research papers.

Articles

* (Co-author) * (Co-author) * (Co-author) * (Co-author) * (Co-author)

References

External links

Video of Knight
addressing St. Bart's staff about COVID-19 {{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Charles Living people Year of birth missing (living people) British cardiologists Alumni of the University of Cambridge Alumni of the University of Oxford Academics of Queen Mary University of London National Health Service people Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians British chief executives Place of birth missing (living people) Honorary medical staff at King Edward VII's Hospital for Officers Officers_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire