New Cardiology Unit opens at Fairfield General Hospital

Patient Councillor David Barnes, Mayor of Whitworth, with Wendy Wood, staff nurse, and Sister Naheed Sabir

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Patients with coronary heart disease and complex heart problems are to benefit from a new purpose-built Cardiology Unit, that opened this week at Fairfield General Hospital in Bury.

The new service includes uding two new Cardiac Catheterisation Labs located in a dedicated unit at the hospital and refurbishment of existing wards.

The new Silver Heart Unit at Fairfield will now provide a range of complex diagnostic and enhanced specialist interventional cardiology procedures for patients from Rochdale, Bury, Oldham, North Manchester and parts of East Lancashire.

The types of specialist cardiology services performed in the two new Cath Labs will include diagnostic coronary angiography, pressure wire assessment, intravascular ultrasound and Percutaneous Coronary Interventions (PCI) such as angioplasty - inserting balloons and stents - and rotablation or rotational atherectomy.

Consultants will also use the unit for fitting specialist pacemakers for heart failure, and simple and complex pacemaker implantation, including internal Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators (ICD) – an electrical device which was similar to the one fitted to 24-year-old Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba in April this year after he suffered a cardiac arrest during a FA cup match against Tottenham. The device releases an electrical charge if it detects a heart malfunction.

The Silver Heart Unit at Fairfield is supported by a new 28 bed Integrated Cardiology Unit also at the hospital which comprises two cardiology wards: the Acute Coronary Care Unit (ward 1 for acutely ill and high dependency patients) and the Interventional Cardiac Unit (ward 2 for general cardiology inpatient and day case patients.)

The unit is expected to treat thousands of patients a year, including around 2,000 angiography, 550 Percutaneous Coronary Interventions and 450 implantable pacemaker devices.

The first patient to be treated at the Silver Heart Unit was Councillor David Barnes, Mayor of Whitworth and local councillor for Whitworth Town Council. Coincidently, Councillor Barnes, 67 from Shawforth in Rossendale, is also a member of the Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee for Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.

Mr Barnes has had heart problems for around 20 years. In December last year he was fitted with a pacemaker at Fairfield. On Thursday last week he was due to attend hospital for a routine check-up when all of a sudden he woke up with excruciating pain. He was taken to the A&E department at Fairfield General Hospital where he was kept overnight. Mr Barnes was the first patient to undergo an angiogram in the new Silver Heart Unit Cath Lab by Mr Swan, one of the Trust’s 12 consultant cardiologists.

Commenting on the new facilities and his experience on the ward, he said: “The new facility itself is Space Age. It all seems to be very well thought out and impressive.

"As with everything and all new facilities like these, it’s not the facility but the people that use the equipment and work here. I can only say the coronary care unit and the new Silver Heart Unit downstairs is absolutely wonderful. It is run by the most caring and professional people I’ve ever come across.

"I must also add that the catering is equal to that of a five star hotel. I’ve never had such fantastic food. I’m being very well looked after.”

The Silver Heart Unit at Fairfield is run by twelve cardiology consultants, specialist cardiac Cath Lab nurses, cardiac physiologists, cardiac radiographers, coronary care nurses and support staff. The unit is also supported by the Trust’s radiology teams, anaesthetists and administration staff including a dedicated booking team.

The Silver Heart Unit has transferred from Rochdale Infirmary to Fairfield General Hospital as part of Healthy Futures and the redesign to cardiology and Stroke services across the North East part of Greater Manchester.

Advances in medicine and technology mean that cardiology has developed dramatically over the last five years, led in this area by the Greater Manchester and Cheshire Cardiac and Stroke Network. Following a review of cardiology services across Greater Manchester in 2011, doctors agreed that it was not possible to sustain specialist and complex interventional cardiology services safely at Rochdale Infirmary in the absence of acute medical services such as critical care services and anaesthetics.

Dr Tim Gray, consultant cardiologist at The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust which runs Fairfield General Hospital, said: “Enhanced specialist interventional procedures need access to intensive care and anaesthetic support at a hospital to ensure patient safety. In 2011, doctors agreed that the Silver Heart Unit at Rochdale should be relocated to Fairfield in order to provide the safest treatments and the best experience for all our patients.

“The transfer of cardiology services also benefits patients who need specialist treatment and advice from consultant medical staff based in the Primary Stroke Centre, also located at Fairfield. These moves and service developments have been clinically led by specialist consultant cardiologists.

“The first day of our new facility being fully operational has gone really well. The teams here have done a superb job. The new unit is a beautiful, purpose-built facility located in the heart of the hospital. It is future proof at least for the next ten years or so. It is as we planned. As a clinician using brand new state-of the art equipment is great. The imaging quality is fantastic. The staff seem happy with the new facilities and so do our patients.”

Rochdale Infirmary continues to have a consultant cardiologist present on the site everyday Monday to Friday and provides a full range of outpatient cardiology services for patients.

The majority of cardiology outpatient services including diagnostic and follow-up and specialist clinics will be provided at Rochdale infirmary where patients will see either a consultant or nurse specialists.