NENAGH HEART FAILURE SUPPORT UNIT WELCOMES
FIRST PATIENTS TO NEW DESIGNATED CLINIC SPACE Staff at Nenagh Hospital started to welcome the first patients through its new Heart Failure Support Unit in August
Pictured at the official opening of the new Heart Failure Support Unit at Nenagh Hospital were patient Timothy Ryan and his wife Mary surrounded by staff of Nenagh Hospital and UL Hospitals Group and members of the Friends of Nenagh Hospital, who generously supported the project. Photo: Brian Arthur.
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mong them were local resident Timothy Ryan, who formally cut the ribbon on the refurbished facility. Timothy was one of the very first people to avail of the service when it first opened in the hospital back in 2012. Since then, the team behind this important service in Nenagh has been providing specialist care and a chronic disease management programme to people with a diagnosis of heart failure. Thanks to significant financial support from the Friends of Nenagh Hospital and the HSE, the service now has a designated space in
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the outpatients department following a refurbishment and equipping project. There are over 90,000 people in Ireland who suffer from heart failure. Heart failure accounts for more than 7% of all hospital admissions; affects about 20% of those over 80 years of age and causes very debilitating symptoms, such as breathlessness, fatigue and fluid retention. The Heart Failure Support Unit in Nenagh Hospital currently sees approximately 230 patients from north Tipperary, east Clare and east Limerick. The service is led by Consultant Cardiologist Dr Syed F Abbas, and two specialist heart failure nurses,
Jacinta Glasgow and Kathryn O’Brien. Clerical support is provided by Agnes Carroll, while two onsite cardiac physiologists ensure timely access to diagnostics, and the cardiac rehabilitation coordinator provides phase III exercise programs for patients attending the service. “It is very important to retain and develop cardiology services locally in Nenagh and while we have been developing the service since its setup in 2012, we did not have a permanent base from where to operate. Our clinic location until now had moved from day to day, and week to week, reducing efficient use of resources and impacting the
