Barts and The London NHS Trust’s successful fast-track treatment of heart attack sufferers (balloon angioplasty) received the award for “Acute and Primary Care Innovation” in the Health Service Journal Awards, run by one of the UK’s leading health publications.
The hospital’s Heart Attack Centre, working with the London Ambulance Service, and the North East London Cardiac and Stroke Network, has transformed delivery of cardiovascular care in one of the UK’s most deprived areas. Three years after the pilot project was started, rates of morbidity and mortality from heart attack have dropped 50 per cent. The Heart Attack Centre launched the service on a 24-hour a day, seven days a week basis in April 2006 and is now treating 600 heart attack victims each year.
Professor Martin Rothman, lead interventional cardiologist at Barts and The London’s Heart Attack Centre said: “We are delighted to have been recognised for our work. This fast-track treatment means that a patient can now have their artery unblocked within 90 minutes of having a heart attack. Being able to treat a patient so quickly prevents further damage to the heart and leads to better overall recovery."
A report out today shows that Barts and The London NHS Trust continues to have one of the highest survival rates of all NHS trusts in England. Dr Foster’s seventh hospital guide has found that Barts and the London NHS Trust is in one of the top 20 trusts in England with a mortality rate of 85.7%. That is 14.3% fewer deaths at the hospitals than would have been expected.
Julian Nettel, Chief Executive at Barts and The London, said: “We are proud to continue our excellent survival rate record. The Hospital Survival Mortality Ratio is a very clear indicator of clinical excellence, demonstrating that we continue to deliver the highest care and successful outcomes for our patients.
The Royal London Hospital’s one-stop nurse-led clinic, which has halved waiting times for chronic kidney disease patients, has won a national award for its innovative service. The clinic, which has been treating patients for over a year, has won the British Journal of Renal Medicine Innovations Award, and a prize of £5,000.
Althea Mahon, Consultant Nurse at the clinic said the new system has made a huge difference to chronic kidney disease patients. “The clinic has improved the way chronic kidney disease patients can access and receive their care. Most of our chronic kidney disease patients are now receiving their care in the community, including annual check-ups. This means our patients are receiving the treatment and advice they need, and only come to hospital when it’s necessary,” she said.
Previously, patients had an initial hospital appointment for assessment and tests, and then returned to hospital to receive the results. The new system invites patients to be seen by the Consultant Nurse who assesses individual needs and provides advice about chronic kidney disease and how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Most patients have then gone on to receiving their care and annual check-ups in the community.
The clinic’s Consultant Nurse and Consultant Nephrologist design a personalised care and management plan which is sent to patients’ GP. Patients are also sent a letter detailing how often they should have their kidney function checked, with details of any other arrangements and confirmation of any follow-up appointments.
Of the 208 patients the clinic has treated since its beginning, all rated the service as either ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ when surveyed.
Barts and The London NHS Trust is launching a new clinic that will give patients fast access to expert medical care if they are suffering from heart palpitations and blackouts.
The Rapid Access Palpitation Clinic will examine patients within 24 hours of referral from their GP or A&E department and enable quick diagnosis and treatment. This will be a dramatic improvement for patients who have traditionally had to wait of two to three months to see a specialist in clinic.
The new clinic has been made possible thanks to a £23,000 donation from the Barts and The London Charity which supports the hospital trust to achieve excellence and innovation in healthcare.
The new clinic, which will be based in the Cardiology Department at Barts Hospital, will be able to review 30 patients every week and offer access to ECG’s, Echocardiograms and heart monitor recorders. Once the patients are examined the specialist nurses and cardiologists can identify those who are suffering cardiac disease and also those not suffering from any cardiac problems. Following diagnosis a plan of treatment and follow-up care can be designed to assist patients. Research has also shown that the clinic will have the added benefit of reducing the need for hospital admission amongst such patients by more than 50 per cent.
Dr Richard Schilling, Consultant Cardiologist at the Trust, said: “This is an important step to ensuring that patients get rapid and early accurate diagnosis for both benign and potentially life threatening heart rhythm problems. The heart team at Barts and The London NHS Trust is committed reducing and eliminating any unnecessary suffering or death resulting from heart rhythm problems and rapid diagnosis is key to this.”
Two cardiac nursing teams from Barts and The London NHS Trust have won awards at the first ever Cardiac Nursing Awards ceremony, held at the Café Royal in central London.
The Trust’s Cardiac Rehabilitation Team were overall winners of the award for ‘Excellence or innovation in Cardiac Rehabilitation’ in recognition of their successful work with Bengali patients in Tower Hamlets.
The nursing team recognised that Bengali patients had a high mortality rate from coronary heart disease and in response worked with local agencies to develop a programme to deliver cardiac rehabilitation specifically for this group. The rehabilitation is for patients who have suffered a heart attack or other heart condition and is designed to help patients regain strength, prevent their condition worsening and reduce the risk of future heart problems. The team tailored the service so it met the important cultural needs of the Bengali patients. This included the introduction of ‘men only’ programmes and ‘women only’ programmes and ensuring the clinics did not conflict with prayer times.
The Heart Failure Team was also singled out for praise with a joint second place award in the category ‘Excellence or innovation in Heart Failure Care’. The Heart Failure clinic reduces the need for admission to hospital by helping patients suffering from heart failure to self-manage their conditions through attending sessions with specialist nurses and pharmacists. Most participants at the clinic see improvements to their symptoms and a have a better quality of life.
The award was in recognition of the integrated Heart Failure Service which works closely with the Tower Hamlets Community Heart Failure Nursing Team. Staff from the Hospital Trust and the Primary Care Trust have built up strong links to enable them to work together as one team. This has created more effective working practices that ensure continuity of care throughout primary, secondary and tertiary areas. The result has meant that patients have access to quality care at diagnosis and throughout their treatment.
A Government advisory group has singled out Barts and The London’s Sexual Heath Services for praise in a report aimed at improving services nationally. In their annual report, The Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health and HIV commended the way the Trust had responded to overwhelming patient numbers by creating a service that was consultant-led but predominantly delivered by nurses.
A nurse consultant role was created to oversee the creation of a new nursing team in which senior nursing staff including Nurse Practitioners were able to deliver clinical care to patients. Under the new structure, Nurse Practitioners and registered nursing staff were trained to treat sexually transmitted infections and provide contraceptive services, leaving them able to manage a patient visit to the clinic without the need for a doctor.
Celia Skinner, Associate Clinical Director of Sexual Health Services at the Trust said: “Fifty percent of our patients at Barts are now managed by nurses, and we hope to get that up to seventy or eighty percent in a year. We are also starting to roll this out at The Royal London to the more challenging population in Whitechapel.”
In January 2005, Barts and The London became one of the first trusts in the country to be awarded Practice Plus accreditation in the national Improving Working Lives (IWL) initiative. The independent IWL validation team said:
"The message from staff is that they feel valued and supported by their managers and enjoy working in the Trust... it was very obvious that there is top-level executive commitment... the workforce is very much a priority for the Trust."
And here are just some of the reasons for their conclusions:
- One of the most progressive childcare services in the country.
- A web-based career innovation zone on the Trust intranet.
- A mediation service to help resolve conflict and improve work relationships.
- Robust equality and diversity policies.
The latest National Staff Attitude survey shows high satisfaction levels for staff at Barts and The London. The Trust scored well in many key areas, particularly in comparison with other trusts, ranking in the top 20% of all acute trusts in England, and above average on most indicators. Among London teaching hospitals, the Trust scores above or equal with peer trusts in 27 of 29 categories.
On a special visit to The Royal London Hospital, to thank staff for their role in treating people injured in the July 7th London bomb attacks, the Queen said:
"I want to thank you and all members of the emergency services and Transport for London who are working with such care, professionalism and sensitivity often in very difficult conditions. You have the respect of us all as you go about your business." Staff at the Trust feel a justifiable pride in the Queen's recognition of their exemplary response throughout the crisis.