Only 30% of cardiology patients in Scunthorpe are being transferred to Castle Hill or Grimsby for specialist care following the launch of an innovative in-reach service.
Since November, a team of Cardiology specialists have been seeing patients coming into our Emergency Departments and being treated on a variety of wards across Scunthorpe Hospital.
And the initiative is proving hugely beneficial.
Not only are these patients being seen by a Cardiology specialist within 24 hours, but in most cases the team are able to make clinical decisions and put treatment plans in place straight away.
As a result, around half of our cardiology patients are seen and treated in Scunthorpe and discharged and 20% require further treatment as outpatients but are also able to go home.
Clinical Director and Consultant in Cardiology, Dr Renjith Anthony, said: “We started off with two specialists, and two additional specialists joined the service in March.
“This is done on a rota system, to allow all our doctors to spend time offering the in-reach service, as well as working on our speciality wards in Grimsby and Castle Hill.
“The biggest benefit we have seen through having this dedicated in-reach service is that cardiology specialists are on hand, eight hours a day, allowing us to see patients more quickly. This equates to quicker patient care and faster discharges for patients who need a Cardiology opinion before they can be discharged.
“It also helps to ensure that we can offer procedures to patients who may otherwise have had to wait and reduces the length of time that patients need to be in hospital.”
One of the original members of the team is Cardiology specialist, Dr Shuja Abbas, who said the service had been appreciated by both patients and fellow clinicians, offering reassurance and peace of mind in what are often complex cases.
And the service is in high demand. We had to cut our interview short, as Dr Abbas was called to review a cardiology patient in one of our Emergency resus bays.
He said: “As Specialists with Autonomous Practice, it means that although we are not Consultants, we can make decisions as a Consultant would, without having to discuss it with a more senior colleague first.
“This means that we can discharge and admit patients and put together treatment plans, which reduces delays in making decisions, as we can see patients as soon as they are flagged as needing a Cardiology opinion.”
Another way in which the service is benefiting patients is in identifying those who are ‘seemingly stable’ but are at high risk of suffering a cardiac arrest.
Dr Abbas said: “Having the inreach service in place also means that if a seemingly stable patient comes into SDEC that is identified as having a high risk of cardiac arrest, we have clinicians with the right expertise to make important decisions about their care and arrange their immediate transfer to one of our specialist wards.”
And the whole team pulls together to ensure that should a patient require further intervention, the process is smooth and simple.
Cardiac Co-ordinator Jodie Gilbert, added: “One of the benefits we have seen from having the service in place is improved communication.
“The team at Scunthorpe can identify patients to us quickly who need procedures being booked in the Cath Lab or a bed on one of our specialist wards, so we’re able to liaise with the site teams and wards and the doctors can continue to review patients.”