Chef Matt Davies praises staff who saved him after electric shock
Published on 16/06/2025
Leading chef Matt Davies sees the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB) staff, who saved him after an electric shock, as being ‘like family’.
The accident more than seven years ago left him fighting for his life and without the use of his left arm.
He was in and out of QEHB and has had about 70 operations on the arm over the years. Last April, after an infection, part of his left arm had to be amputated.
The accident meant he couldn’t continue his job as a top Midlands chef and so for the past four years he has devoted his time raising money for QEHB.
Amazingly, he has managed to raise more than £100,000 for charities, including the QEHB Charity.
He is still a patient and is facing further reconstruction surgery at the end of June.
Matt, who is speaking as part of QEHB’s 15th birthday celebrations, says he will be forever grateful to the nurses on Ward 408 and to Col Mark Foster, the surgeon who has treated him for seven years, and has since become a friend.
Matt said: “I've been a patient now for nearly eight years now, leading to over 70 operations with Colonel Foster who saved my life.
“I owe so much gratitude to the QE, not only for saving my life, but also, giving me a new vision in life with my charity work.
“The staff in the plastics clinic but also on Ward 408, where I've spent most of my time as an inpatient, are like my family too. We have forged an amazing relationship over the years.
“In a nutshell, the QE means everything to me. The staff are a very, very important part of my life and a very important part of our family. “
Matt started holding dinners to fundraise for causes that had helped him. He has more fundraising planned this year and in May organised a "great Brummie menu" event with cooking by a host of Michelin-starred chefs.
Matt had spent most of his working life as a chef before the accident and was running six restaurants in Staffordshire.
He had previously worked at the Savoy in London and apprenticed under Andreas Antona at the city's Simpson's restaurant.
