The outpatient heart failure service available at the Lancashire Cardiac Centre is ideally suited to meet the needs of clinicians in primary and secondary care looking to work within the new NICE guidelines. We planned the service and launched it in early 2009 with the following guidelines in mind.
The ‘ NICE quick reference guide’ below details the immediate relevance of our Heart failure diagnostic clinic (HFDC) and specialist heart failure clinic (HFC)
HFDC
- Urgent two-week echo AND specialist review seen as essential for all patients with previous MI and HF symptoms
- All new diagnosis made under the care of specialist team – a one stop consultant-led clinic being an ideal approach
The HFDC is intended to be a one stop clinic such that the majority of patients are discharged after only a single visit with a clear management plan.
HFC
Considering the NICE guidance, it is important to have ready access to specialists for those patients who have had their diagnosis confirmed previously.
- Having received a clear management plan after initial diagnosis, we are keen that you feel able to contact us again for support in patient management.
- Indeed we ask that all patients with known HF combined with new AF, angina or LBBB on ECG (QRS>120ms) are referred to us, a very high risk population who we hope will be identified at routine six monthly review if not before.
- We ask that patients with any remaining symptoms despite optimal BB and ACE I are also referred to us.
We have offered a respected regional service to cardiologists in the North West as well as following up our own local admissions. We hope to help you prevent those admissions.
There is so often more that we can do to improve symptoms, prognosis and importantly avoid the non elective admissions that are to some extent so predictable.
Referral forms for both HFDC and specialist HFC are available here and through choose and book.
The HF team, which includes myself and a team of hospital based nurses, are happy to discuss individual patient needs by telephone too, indeed we look forward to developing a two-way relationship that offers our patients the very best care.
Dr. Alison Seed. Tel: 01253 657865
Heart failure Specialist Nurses (Gillian Martin and Kathy McCann) Tel. 01253 303269
C&B Heart Failure Diagnostic Clinic Referral Form
C&B Heart Failure Clinic Referral Form
C&B Heart Failure Fact Sheet
