EALING Hospital’s Heart Failure Unit is shortlisted for a national award for reducing the number of patients being admitted to hospital with heart conditions.
The unit is shortlisted for the Health Service Journal Awards in the acute sector innovation of the year category.
Harmandeep Singh, who was behind the six-month pilot, 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, based in the hospital’s ambulatory care unit, goes far beyond existing units in the NHS.
It offers specialist reviews by a consultant cardiologist plus diabetic and respiratory nurses, treatments like intravenous iron infusions and blood transfusions, specialist investigations and procedures, onward referrals for advanced heart failure treatment, as well as daily and weekly check-ups as required.
More than 99% of patients said they would prefer to come to the unit than be admitted to hospital.
It saw 212 patients during the six months and helped 190 people avoid long hospital admission.
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.”
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