Professor Martin Elliott 2015-04-09 Person 5 5 0

We first met Martin 13 years ago when we were desperate to find a resolution to our daughter's illness. We were told by another world renowned Cardiac surgeon to - "get her to Martin Elliott he is the only person in the UK who will be able to save her life". We had done so much research into her condition, others before him had found this an issue, we knew that the instruction was right. The first time we saw Martin he had been speaking to the team in the US that we knew of who had done so much work in her area, he listened to us, he had already got a plan in his mind and told us what he wanted to do. Within a few days she was being operated on and finally we could see improvement. He told us honestly why we had found ourselves in the position we had, what had gone wrong elsewhere, what we faced and what was needed. No question was left unanswered, no query dismissed, never shirking the difficult questions. Martin has always been open and honest, he treats you as an equal during the discussions you have. He might have all the knowledge on how to fix it but he genuinely wants to hear about what your concerns are, what you notice, what nuances your child is bringing to the table. He is not fearful of asking for others views from around the world, as so many are, in fact he goes out of his way to chat with other surgeons. The good news is that in the medical world at large he is a great in the cardio-thoracic field, but this has not changed the Dr he is. He acts with humility and compassion after all he believes you are trusting him with your most prized possession, your child, you are giving him the honour. He never rushes a decision, explains what he thinks, what the risks are, talks you and your child through what to expect, what he will achieve. Ask him for his thoughts and he will tell you what he would do but he never forces you to make a decision. No matter how many times you ask his door is always open. He is our daughters hero, she trusts him and having spent 13 years in and out of hospital he has the knack of getting her to tell him how she really is, not what she thinks she ought to say. He gives her time to talk, doesn't rush, has a fantastic bedside manner and always shows her he cares. If you need a hugely talented cardiac thoracic surgeon who is just brilliant at what he does, with a great deal of experience in so many areas, who will research unknown areas, take advice and will only offer you a solution when he is sure that it is the right thing to do, Martin is your Dr. If you want a Dr who is sensitive, caring, compassionate, who listens to your fears and thoughts and acts upon them and will treat you the parent as a vital part of the team then we can not recommend Martin highly enough to you, he is the best for a reason. He lectures around the world and is revered by his colleagues; this is great as is his position on the directorate at GOSH, but to us all he is the Prof and the man who saved our daughters life who still shows her and us the greatest of care whenever we see him. He is a fantastic surgeon who will do his best by your child... who can ask for more than that.