15^th Euro Nursing & Medicare Summit

Biography

Biography: Angela Moss

Abstract

The Nurse-Led Rapid Access Arrhythmia Clinic is an innovative service which has revolutionised patient access to specialist support, enhanced management of patients with arrhythmias and dramatically reduced waiting times in the cardiology department. Service need was the most significant driver for the establishment of the clinic, which acts as a one stop shop and triage service for patients with arrhythmias. Improving patient access to arrhythmia services was an initial objective of the Arrhythmia Nurse Specialist. As experience has grown, patient assessment and intervention has enabled the arrhythmia nurse to work more autonomously in an advanced nurse practitioner position. As a qualified non-medical prescriber this also enhances complete care. At the start of the service, waiting times for a new cardiology appointment with the medical team was nine months. Appointments for the arrhythmia service are one to two weeks from referral and as a result, overall waiting times for cardiology appointments are six weeks. In 2014, 221 were seen and 263 in 2015. Routes of referral include the emergency department, in-patient departments, primary care and the cardiac team. The majority of patients are assessed and discharged back to primary care. Those who require further input are managed accordingly. An interdisciplinary approach encourages convenient access to the consultant cardiologist and cardiology team including nurse specialists and cardiac physiologists to expedite investigations. Patients, relatives and health professionals can access the service for advice. The successful implementation of the Rapid Access Arrhythmia Clinic has been down to motivation of a close working cardiology team and communication within primary and secondary care. Quarterly statistics and annual reports continue to demonstrate an efficient and effective service with patient satisfaction rated highly.