A cardiac team at Castle Hill Hospital have been “growing their own” highly skilled staff to help patients with heart conditions.
Cardiac Physiology is based at Castle Hill Hospital but supports patients at Hull Royal Infirmary and the Hull Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) who are undergoing tests or their symptoms require monitoring.
However, the service was hit by staff departures in recent years, with members of the team moving out of the area or leaving to be closer to their families.
Now, four members of the team have qualified as Cardiac Physiologists with another two members of staff due to begin their courses in September after the service teamed up with Sheffield Hallam University to provide a three-year apprenticeship in Cardiac Physiology.
Carron Painter, Head of Cardiac Physiology, said: “They’ve all worked so hard and we are just so proud of them.”
Cardiac Physiologists carry out a wide range of cardiac diagnostic tests including electrocardiograms (ECGs) and echocardiograms, also known as ultrasounds of the heart. They’re also trained to monitor patients during procedures and device implantation in the Cath Labs.
Physiologists also implant and explant devices monitoring symptoms and can analyse data from pacemakers and defibrillators remotely so patients can avoid unnecessary hospital visits and potential problems can be identified.
Chelsea Muszynski, who originally joined the department as an administrative apprentice in 2016, and Rebecca Wrightston, who joined the service in 2009 as a cardiographer, were the first two to complete the apprenticeship in 2017, heading to Sheffield for a week of studying and learning at regular intervals during the academic year.
Rebecca and Chelsea are now working as Band 7 Highly Specialist Invasive Physiologists, having recently attained their professional accreditations with the British Heart Rhythm Society in Cardiac Devices and Electrophysiology.
Holly Ghosh, previously a cardiographer, obtained an ‘A’ level Biology course so she could apply for the apprenticeship, and Elliott Windley, a volunteer in cardiology who went on to join the team, were the second cohort and graduated in August 2025.
Both are now working as Band 5 Cardiac Physiologists and are on an accelerated pathway to promotion as Band 6 staff.
All four, supported by Group Widening Participation Manager Anne Burdis and the apprenticeship team at HUTH as well as their own team in Cardiology, will now provide direct patient care, easing the burden on medics who would have had to take on more tasks because of the previous staff shortages.
Cardiographers Tijana Nikcevski and Renata Vama will now become the third cohort of apprentices and will begin their academic journeys to become Cardiac Physiologists in September.
Carron said: “They’ve earned their places and they are all doing extremely well in their roles.”