The National Institute for Cardiovascular Outcomes Research (NICOR) publish latest National Cardiac Audit Programme (NACP) figures.

[Milkfairy]

The audit has a separate patients, carers and public section.nicor.org.uk/national-cardi...

[Milkfairy Heart Star]

The report discusses the possible negative impact on a person's outcome if they make their own way to hospital rather than calling an ambulance.

[Tos92 in reply to Milkfairy]

”…whereas the ambulance services take the patient directly to the specialist team needed for treatment”.

I’ve been driven by an ambulance to A&E before, and I’ve been placed in the waiting room like those who self-present themselves on a few occasions, with or without an ambulance. Despite having had a really bad spasm, heart rate almost reaching 200bpm, I still waited in the waiting room like everyone else and wasn’t referred to any specialist team.

I think the statement above varies depending on the area, and the other factors mentioned, such as hospital capacity and staffing pressures in that locality.

[Milkfairy Heart Star in reply to Tos92]

Have you read the full report?The National Cardiac Audit Programme records the mortality and other outcomes of patients with heart disease.

The are 6 domains including heart attack care, percutaneous cardiovascular interventions, heart failure, heart surgery, arrthymias and devices and antenatal screening.

There are agreed standards for the care which heart patients should receive.

The audit measures whether these are being achieved.

The audit is showing that the care heart patients are receiving has deteriorated over the last few years.

If you feel you weren't cared for appropriately then I suggest you contact the hospital's Patient Advisory Liaison Service PALS.

Write to your MP too.

The standards and advice are agreed by the representative professional bodies such as the British Cardiovascular Society, British Interventional Society, and the Society of Cardiothoracic surgeons, and the NHS.

[Tos92 in reply to Milkfairy]

I didn’t say I disagreed with the statement.

I was providing an example of when this standard perhaps isn’t met. Not everyone is fortunate enough to receive the standard agreed treatment for heart patients. And I’m also not saying that I don’t expect the NHS not to make mistakes or be affected by funding and other issues by any means which may contribute to this.

I have contacted my PALS and MP too - thank you.

[Cat04 in reply to Tos92]

You are correct Tos92 I live between 2 hospitals. When I was taken ill last year and the GP told me to ring 999, I requested to be taken to the hosp where my cardiology teams are but this was refused by paramedics as their contract meant they could only take me to a different one . I was admitted to hosp for 3 days, I told them my cardiology teams were at the other hosp and was told that I would have to be discharged and get a new referral from my GP to go there! It actually too 8 weeks to transfer my diagnostic test results from one hosp to the other too.How is this efficient?

[Tos92 in reply to Cat04]

I’m sorry this happened to you. Do you feel like you received a good level of care despite not being taken to your hospital of choice for the heart issue that you went in for?

Just curious whether not being taken to your designated hospital that you regularly attend where they know all your medical history makes a difference to the care you receive.

[Cat04 in reply to Tos92]

Considering it was over a weekend and staff few and far between, I was admitted in approx an hour from a&e. It was just lacking in communication and admin between the two hosps., and their refusal to do anything as I wished to be treated at the hosp who were actively involved in my care.. In fact the surgery I required wasnt even dealt with at the hosp I was admitted to & they would have had to send me to the other one anyway. If I had been taken to the "correct" hosp in the first place, my subsequent treatment may not have been delayed. When I eventually got back to my hosp they started investigations of their own and I eventually had surgery within 9 months, so the delay was approx 4 months.

I'm still here to tell the tale for which I am very grateful as without the surgery I was given only 6 months to live.

[Milkfairy Heart Star in reply to Cat04]

I am sorry to hear of your challenges. Communication between hospitals and clinicians is not always ideal.

[Tos92 in reply to Cat04]

I’ve been in a similar situation before. Had tests at my local hospital and they were not accepted at another which delayed treatment.

I’m happy to hear that it all worked out in the end, despite a few shortfalls along the way. I hope you’ve recovered well from the surgery.

[Milkfairy Heart Star in reply to Tos92]

The ambulance service is for emergency care the Paramedics will make a clinical decision where best to take a patient.

As patients we do not have the right to be taken to the hospital of our choice.

Eg if you are having a high risk heart attack that means being taken to a heart attack centre, a stroke, to a specialist stroke centre.

This approach has improved the outcomes for people having high risk heart attacks or strokes.

[Milkfairy Heart Star in reply to Cat04]

In this situation, I suggest you raise your concerns with the relevant ambulance service and the hospital's Patient Advisory Liaison Service PALS and your MP.

If you are experiencing a high risk heart attack the Paramedics will take you to a heart attack centre.

It's the same if you are having a stroke you'll be taken to a stroke centre.

The benchmark for best practice, in a high risk heart attack, is that it should take 150 minutes from the calling the ambulance to arriving in the catheterisation laboratory.

In other less severe heart attacks or heart conditions you will be taken to the nearest hospital.

Transfer of information between different hospitals continues to be a problem.

I request copies of my test results and take them to any appointment not at my usual hospital.

[Cat04 in reply to Milkfairy]

The ambulance staff had no choice to take me anywhere except where they were contracted to take me and not to the appropriate location. This is what happens when you live on the border of two counties.

Unfortunately these two hosps do not accept each others diagnostic and test results and always do their own. The cardiologists even disagreed with the admitting hosp's consultant cardiologist's interpretation of my ecgs

It seems irrelevant now to complain as I've now received life saving surgery & treatment from my cardiology/cardiac surgery teams.

[Milkfairy Heart Star in reply to Cat04]

It's not great. I have an admission plan which once a Consultant on call tried to refuse to follow and disputed my test results.

I raised the issue with the Ward Manager and my Cardiologist.

The Trust formally apologised to me in the end.

As patients we shouldn't really have to jump through such hoops.

[Cat04 in reply to Milkfairy]

On one occasion I had spoken to my consultant by phone who told me to pack a bag & present myself at a&e, ask for the on-call cardiologist and for me to be immediately admitted. I arrived to be told "oh no, we don't work like that". It took some time before the on-call cardiologist who was waiting and looking for me, to be notified. I do sadly feel that the admin doesn't always support the clinicians' work.

[Kristin1812 Heart Star]

Thanks for posting this, Milkfairy, and other updates. Really useful.

[Prada47]

Brilliant link, figures that you can trust.

Thank You