This service started in July 2016 and has grown considerably since then.

We deal with most aspects of cardiology that can be dealt with on an outpatient basis and are able to provide a responsive surface to referrals from primary care, allied health services such as Navigo, palliative care nursing etc. and referrals from secondary care services such as the heart failure and cardiac rehabilitation nurses.

We are staffed with Consultant Cardiologists, a specialist nurse (with a particular interest in heart failure), an advanced cardiac physiologist (with a special interest in echocardiography) and Cardiographers who fit and analyse the various ambulatory monitoring we offer.

Whilst we see a wide range of cardiological conditions, a large proportion of the patients seen are referred with known or suspected heart failure. We attempt to see these within the current NICE guidelines providing prompt clinical evaluation and echocardiography thereby allowing instigation of treatment known to improve both symptoms and prognosis and to manage these patients with guidance to themselves, carers and relatives, and their primary care physicians to maximise therapeutic outcomes. We perform about 800 formal echocardiograms per year and many more focussed short studies using portable hand held devices at the bedside.

Another area of expertise is in the investigation and management of palpitations. We have several different types of heart monitors that we can use to try to evaluate the cause of symptoms depending on how frequently and for what duration the symptoms last. Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a particular concern as it is common within the population as a whole (perhaps 1.4 million people in Britain have AF) and gets commoner with older age (perhaps one in five people over the age of 80 years have with AF). It is associated with a significantly increased risk of stroke which can be reduced significantly with effective management.

We perform and analyse 1060 monitors (ECG and BP) per year and the numbers are growing.

Currently we receive around 2000 new patient referrals a year to the service and with review appointments, this runs about 9000 appointments per year.

The service has grown considerably over the past six years and has the potential to grow further with increased clinical activity occurring in the community settings that had previously been seen within the secondary care domains.

We receive consistently high ratings and praise from service users.

About the team:

The team consists of:

• Dr Rob Bain (Consultant Cardiologist)
• Dr Mark Walters (Consultant Cardiologist)
• Keeley Wickham (Senior Cardiac Nurse with a special interest in Heart Failure)
• Rachel Jones (Advanced Cardiac Physiologist with a special interest in echocardiography)
• Wendy Fenwick (Senior Administrator)
• Lynn Bayes (Administrative Assistant)
• Kate Hennebery (Senior Cardiographer)
• Michelle Dyer (Cardiographer)
• Helen Robinson (Bank Administrative Assistant)