New Acute Chest Pain Unit at Hammersmith Hospital

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Spring opening for life saving treatment centre

Hammersmith Hospital plans to open a new specialist centre which will provide immediate help for people suspected of suffering a heart attack.

The acute chest pain unit, opening in April 2010, will offer people suffering from cardiac pain diagnostic tests on arrival, 24 hours a day.

Lara Waywell, head of operations, says: " Previously this group of patients would need to come through the emergency department. The new unit will offer a more streamlined process with a dedicated team on hand to treat conditions like unstable angina and heart attacks."

The London Ambulance Service (LAS) will work alongside the Trust to ensure people with cardiac pain in neighbouring boroughs are brought straight to the unit.

" The new service will be a great asset to the hospital and will efficiently triage high-risk patients who need urgent treatment and allow low-risk patients to be rapidly investigated and discharged," adds Lara.

Nine new cardiology beds are opening up within the acute chest pain unit to directly receive patients brought in by the LAS. The new beds will also allow emergency patients at neighbouring hospitals to transfer rapidly for specialist treatment.

And, says Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs Hammersmith Hospital along with other local hospitals including Charing Cross and Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea, the new beds mean it will be able to increase the number of coronary interventions it can accommodate.

The new unit will be based in the catheter laboratory on the first floor of Hammersmith Hospital and offer single-sex accommodation and a dedicated reception area in a pleasant, refurbished environment.

 

November 3, 2009