New Pacemaker Theatre Opens
Peter Hollins, Chief Executive of the British Heart Foundation, opened the new state-of-the-art pacing theatre at Poole Hospital last month.
Patients needing permanent pacemakers can now have them implanted at Poole Hospital thanks to a new state-of-the-art ‘pacing theatre’, which was officially opened on Friday 22 August at an event attended by Peter Hollins, Chief Executive of the British Heart Foundation.
The pacing service has been running within Poole’s Coronary Care Unit (CCU) since April 2008, and has already dramatically reduced waiting times for patients needing a pacemaker. The new purpose-built suite will allow the expert coronary staff at Poole to implant around 200 pacemakers a year and provide follow-up appointments to some 1200 patients
The provision of this procedure at Poole means patients requiring a permanent pacemaker will no longer need to travel to other hospitals before they can be treated, and can have the pacemaker implanted at the earliest opportunity. The new service also reduces the need for patients to have temporary pacemakers whilst waiting for a permanent system, so reducing infection risks.
A multi-disciplinary team of highly skilled staff will care for patients requiring pacemakers. The team include two consultants, as well as cardiac physiologists, radiographers and specialist CCU nurses.
Dr Diane Bruce, Consultant Cardiologist at Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are delighted with the new pacing theatre at Poole, which has already led to a reduction in waiting times for in-patients needing pacemakers. Our aim is to implant pacemakers at the earliest opportunity once the need has been identified, and the new suite will allow us to do this in a comfortable and safe environment for patients.”
Date: 12 September 2008