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Northern Ireland Update By Maria Mooney
Regional Cardiac
Rehabilitation Programme for heart failure patients in Northern Ireland Aim: To prevent unplanned attendances at the emergency department and
reduce readmission of heart failure patients through the provision of a cardiac
rehabilitation programme Cardiac rehabilitation is not currently routinely offered to
patients in Northern Ireland with heart failure. There have been a number of
pilot programmes undertaken in the South Eastern Trust and feedback has been
that patients have reported improvements in their energy levels, levels of
independence and self-confidence, improved ability to manage stress and
improved general health and overall quality of life. Heart failure accounted for a total of 3,235 unplanned admissions
in 2015/2016. At an average stay of 9.8
days this cost the health service £5.9m.
Investment in this project has been obtained from transformation funding
and is identified as Regional Care Pathways Reform. Additional resources to the cardiac rehabilitation teams to deliver
a cardiac rehabilitation service for heart failure patients. It is expected that each trust will deliver
the programme to 126 heart failure patients per year. The programme was
designed by a sub working group which included cardiac rehabilitation nurses,
heart failure nurses, physiotherapists and British Heart Foundation
representatives around the ACPICR standards for exercise and the BACPR
standards 2012. Suitable patients will be referred to the cardiac rehabilitation
teams by the heart failure nurse or cardiologists. In designing the content and locations where
the programme is to be delivered the cardiac rehabilitation team and heart
failure nurses will work together to maximise attendance at the programme. Pilot
cardiac rehabilitation service for adults with congenital heart disease in the
Belfast Health and Social Care Trust Aim: Develop an exercise programme for adults with congenital heart
disease This programme is being funded by the charity “JT Inspires” which is a Northern Ireland charity set up to
improve the lives of young people growing up with congenital heart
disease. JT Inspires recognises the
importance of developing fitness initiatives to assist young adults with
congenital heart disease to improve their quality of life. Following initial meetings with the charity, the cardiac
rehabilitation team and the adult congenital service within the Belfast Trust,
funding was made available to allow the cardiac rehabilitation team to develop
a service to meet the needs of these patients. The proposal was to pilot a
programme concentrating on those patients who have undergone surgery. The amount provided by JT Inspires over a 1
year period is £40,000 for services provided by the cardiac rehabilitation team
within the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust. At present there are 3 patients enrolled in the current cardiac
rehabilitation programmes and it is hoped to recruit additional patients
closely working with the adult congenital heart team in the trust. In order to increase the uptake it is
envisaged that the patients will be referred as soon as they are stable
following their surgery.
National
Certification Programme for Cardiovascular Rehabilitation Belfast Health and Social Care Trust has just recently applied for certification with BACPR/NACR. It is the first trust to have applied for certification in Northern Ireland. The Cardiac Rehabilitation Service is an important part of the BHSCT current integrated cardiology service. It is spread over 3 sites and ensures cardiac rehabilitation is delivered as per BACPR standards 2012. Programmes are hospital but mainly community based and are available to all priority groups. The programmes are delivered during the morning; afternoon and early evening to ensure patients have a variety of times to attend. This also allows for patients to attend even when they return to work. The service offers a menu based approach ensuring each patient receives the appropriate support, education and interventions specifically related to their anxieties, abilities and risk factors. All twenty two of our consultant cardiologists endorse the cardiac rehabilitation service and consider it an integral part of the patients recovery and chronic condition care pathway.
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