FORMER Liverpool FC manager Gerard Houllier returned to the hospital that saved his life to unveil new, cutting-edge technology – but insisted that a permanent move back to the UK is not yet on the cards.
The 60-year-old, who has just resigned from French club Lyon after winning another championship, went for a check-up scan at Liverpool’s Cardiothoracic Centre after officially opening the new hybrid theatre.
He said he was happy to be reunited with heart surgeon and good friend Abbas Rashid, but was not looking for a move back to British football.
“I will be taking a break,” he said. “It was a very special moment when I saw the people here again, very emotional.
The manager, who reigned at Liverpool from 1998 to 2004, shows his gratitude whenever he can by supporting the hospital.
He said he was delighted to launch the £1.2m theatre that will allow open heart surgery and keyhole surgery to be performed in the same operation.
Previously it had to be done separately with the risk that a patient may die in the intervening period.
It will also have a 3D imaging system which offers an almost immediate on-screen display of a patient’s vessels and internal organs.
It is the first in the UK to be sited within a theatre environment.
Mr Houllier said: “I think this is the most modern equipment in Europe. The management board deserve a lot of credit because they had a vision and then provided the financial backing to realise it.
“And it is fantastic that it has been managed and opened on time. Normally, when you plan these things there are delays, but here there is a team that made it happen.
“Because I was a football manager, I know you need a good team to get things done for you. I wish the patients the same good luck here as I had.”
Though groundbreaking, the new technology would not have benefited Mr Houllier, who was rushed to hospital after suffering a heart attack during a Liverpool v Leeds match.
He said: “It was the first question I asked Mr Rashid and he told me it wouldn’t have. What I had was more serious, but it is a good thing for other patients.”
Mr Houllier said he will always remember the support of Liverpool fans who prayed for his recovery.
He said: “There was a strong relationship between fans and myself and the team. But after what happened the relationship got even more intense.
“They were not just thinking of their football manager but, I think, the man who was in hospital fighting for his life, and I will remember that for my whole life.”
Mr Rashid said: “The new equipment will benefit patients hugely.”
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