He was widely published and active in the field, serving as a member of the European Society of Cardiology committee for practice guidelines and as the chairperson of the ESC guidelines on pre-operative cardiac risk assessment and perioperative cardiac management in non-cardiac surgery.

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"Every single emergency patient who comes through the door of an NHS hospital should have an individual risk assessment, diagnosis, treatment plan and post-operative care plan prioritised according to need, " he said.

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"I have confidence in the initial assessment prior to surgery, conduct of surgery, anaesthesia and post-operative care from the nursing perspective in all cases, " he said.

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