Congratulations to the cardiac assessment unit in the Emergency Department at
Russells Hall Hospital for winning the Initiative of the Year Award as part of the
Forward Healthcare Awards 2019!
The Forward Healthcare Awards celebrates and shares great work across health
and care, and the cardiac assessment unit (CAU) in collaboration with the
Emergency Department, won the award yesterday for their approach to dealing with
cardiac patients.
Launched in November 2018, CAU has greatly reduced the time patients wait to be
seen, which has led to the early diagnosis of several myocardial infarctions (MIs) and
reduced admissions.
CAU is a six-chaired specialist area near the Emergency Department, run by our
cardiac nurse specialists and supported by the on-call cardiology
consultant/registrar. It sees patients with chest pain and a low to intermediate
suspicion of having an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) or other cardiac conditions
where patients are ambulant, such as newly-discovered atrial fibrillation (AF) or
other arrhythmias.
These patients all get seen within an hour – the current average is 30 minutes – by a
specialist nurse, are monitored on telemetry, get their blood tests/chest x-rays (CXR)
done in a timely manner and are all discussed with a cardiologist. Their average stay
is about four hours.
This has led to the early diagnosis of several MIs, the outpatient management of
many arrhythmias that historically would have been admitted, and the safe discharge
of the majority of patients, many with further outpatient tests.
The Forward Healthcare Awards celebrates those making an initiative which is
patient-focused to highlight excellence, and the unit in collaboration with ED won in
the category of Initiative of the Year.
Diane Wake, chief executive said, “I’m thrilled that our cardiac assessment unit team
has won this award and has been recognised for the great service they are providing
to patients.
Approved by: Liz Abbiss (y) Diane Wake (y) Marie Banner (y)
“This service highlights great team working between our Emergency Department and
cardiology teams to improve how we care for chest pain patients.
“The teams involved have delivered a visionary service, committed to patient care,
with a determination to succeed and keep patients safe.”
