The recently established ESTS working group for Quality of Live and Patient Safety organized a symposium on Tuesday June 17 in Copenhagen. Several aspects of patients’ quality of life after lung and oesophageal resection and chest wall repair were discussed. Tom Rice presented the Cleveland Clinic initiative on Transforming Healthcare through Empathy and Innovation and the video “Empathy: the human connection to patient care” vas shown. Nuria Novoa closed the Symposium encouraging the attendants to implement the ESTS safe surgery check lists.