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Home sweet home Jesse Oldfield had plenty to smile about when he was born at home in Harrow Weald as part of the homebirth service. You can read more about the service on page 10
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OurTrust Issue 11 | Summer 2019
Kindly supported by London North West Healthcare Charity
Heart clinic could save NHS millions
H
igh admission rates for heart failure patients across North West London have led to the opening of a heart failure day care unit that aims to keep all but the most critically ill patients out of hospital. Doctors Stuart Rosen and Harmandeep Singh from Ealing Hospital proposed the six month pilot after the trust admitted more than 1,500 people during 2017/18. Dr Singh said: “It is a national problem which costs the NHS more than £5 billion a year and the pressure on bed space is only going to increase unless we see a sea change in lifestyle. “I regularly see patients who, through no fault of their own, are spending too long in hospital because we don’t have an effective early intervention programme.” The new day care unit, which is based in the hospital’s ambulatory care unit, goes far beyond existing units in the NHS offering a ‘one stop shop’ service focused on treating and discharging patients the same day. It offers a lifeline for patients like Daljit Lota who was admitted to Ealing six times for heart failure in a single year and subsequently spent more than 100 days in hospital.
Dr Harmandeep Singh, third right, and colleagues from the cardiology team
Mr Lota, 67, who lives in Southall said: “I’ve been seen twice at the new clinic and avoided any hospital stays since which is a relief. It makes a big difference being able to go home.”
The unit, which accepts referrals from the hospital’s emergency department and community heart failure nurses, offers a more holistic approach which has won the support of both Imperial College London and Ealing Clinical Commissioning Group.
The heart failure unit saw 212 patients during the six month pilot and helped 160 people avoid hospital admission.
@LNWH_NHS
Several patients required more than one attendance but only a few required hospital admission.
This includes specialist reviews by heart failure, diabetic and respiratory nurses, intravenous iron infusions and blood transfusions, specialist investigations and procedures, onward referrals for advanced heart failure treatment and daily/weekly check-ups as required. Dr Singh added: “The initial results are very exciting and our hope is that this sort of unit could be rolled out across the UK.
London North West Healthcare
The ongoing “ challenge in the NHS is
how to get more from less and we’re offering a service that makes use of existing resources as well as delivering better outcomes.
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