A pioneering surgeon who has done so much to restore the hearing of hundreds of patients across Bradford and the North of England has today (October 10) had a building renamed in his honour.
The Listening for Life Centre, in the grounds of Bradford Royal Infirmary (BRI), now bears the name of Bradford Teaching Hospitals’ Consultant Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Surgeon and charity fundraiser, Professor Chris Raine MBE.
Professor Chris Raine in front of the Listening for Life Centre which has been renamed in his honour.
The £2.8 million centre in Bradford, which serves as the home for the Yorkshire Auditory Implant Service, providing comprehensive assessments and support for cochlear implant patients, was officially opened in October 2009 by the Duke of Gloucester. It now attracts patients from as far away as the Isle of Man, Sheffield, Hull, North Manchester, Carlisle and the Lake District.
Professor Raine was one of the first to pioneer the use of cochlear implants in the UK and carried out his first surgery in 1990. The implant is an electronic medical device that improves hearing for severe to profound deafness. By bypassing damaged parts of the inner ear to directly stimulate the auditory nerve, an external speech processor picks up sound and sends it to the internal receiver under the skin, which then transmits signals to the brain. The surgical procedure doesn’t restore normal hearing, but it can significantly improve the ability to hear speech and environmental sounds and therefore can greatly facilitate communication with family friends and colleagues.
In 2015 Professor Raine made history by performing the first cochlear implant under local anaesthetic on a pregnant patient in the UK. As a result, patient, Kimberly Ward, was able to hear her unborn baby’s heartbeat for the first time.
Former patients, colleagues, friends and family of Professor Chris Raine who attended the renaming of the Listening for Life Centre in his honour.
Fellow Consultant ENT surgeon and longstanding colleague of Professor Raine’s, Mr Dave Strachan said: “This is an incredible and truly appropriate honour for Chris. He has brought the gift of hearing to hundreds of patients who have come from all across the North of England to benefit from his expertise after he established the cochlear implant unit in Bradford.
“In the early days of implantation there was no funding for the implants as they cost £12,000 per patient and even when that was available, for small numbers of patients, it was the big regional centres who received this. Chris however was determined that his patients wouldn’t miss out and he established the Ear Trust charity that funded the initial procedures here in Bradford.
“Since the service started in 1990, more than 1,300 people from all over the North of England have received over 2,000 implants at BRI and the Listening for Life Centre now carry out around 120 cochlear implants a year. This is all down to Chris’s vision, passion and determination and we now actually have 5 cochlear implant surgeons.
“The ‘Chris Raine Listening for Life Centre’ stands as a beacon of hope to patients and as a testimony to one man’s drive for excellence and the firm belief that everyone deserves the gift of hearing.”
ENT Surgeon Chris Raine with his first cochlear implant patient, Judyth.
Professor Raine, 72, has single-handedly implanted more than 1000 cochlear implants – some on babies as young as six-months-old while the oldest recipient in Bradford was 93.
Colleague and ENT surgeon, Miss Helen Tan, added: “Back in 1990, Chris was determined to give his patients the chance to receive the new technology of cochlear implants when there was no government funding at that time. So he set up The Ear Trust charity to help purchase implants for patients which cost £12,000 each at that time.
“He also set up the Yorkshire Cochlear Implant Service (now YCAS), liaised with like-minded national and international surgeons and, with a team of just three – himself, audiologist Dalim Khan and hearing therapist Christine Gill started implanting patients. The amazing Breeda Barry joined the team soon after as fundraiser for the Ear Trust.
“Chris had a vision, and the Ear Trust successfully fundraised for a bespoke building away from the noise and bustle of the main hospital and the team expanded into the Listening for Life Centre in 2009.
“That initial team of three has grown to be the large, thriving team it is today, while Chris’s work, teaching, training and research – and that of the YCAS team – has been nationally and internationally recognised since the beginning.”
The Ear Trust also continues to support the team’s work and last year purchased a cone beam scanner at Bradford Royal Infirmary.
Professor Raine still sees patients in clinics every week and in April 2015, was awarded an MBE for his services to the NHS and the Ear Trust charity which he established so patients could have cochlear implants to restore their hearing. He plans to retire in 2026.
Chief Executive of Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Professor Mel Pickup, said: “Thank you Professor Raine for all that you have done for your patients and our Trust over the last four decades. You should be proud of your efforts and the work you have done to pioneer and build an amazing cochlear implant service here.”
From left, Trust Chief Executive, Professor Mel Pickup with ENT Surgeon, Professor Chris Raine.
The new sign was kindly donated by Robertson Construction Yorkshire and East Midlands, who are building the Trust’s new £25m endoscopy unit.