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Nwicker60
24-Oct-11, 16:29
Service will provide a quick and early specialist assessment

A NEW service for patients with chest pain which will speed up access to treatment is being introduced at Caithness General Hospital in Wick on Tuesday November 1.
The service - called the Rapid Access Chest Pain Service - will provide a quick and early specialist assessment for patients with new onset of suspected angina, which is caused by the narrowing of one or more of the blood vessels in the heart.
This service is being led by Dr Nas Naqvi, who is Acting Consultant in Acute and General Medicine at Caithness General Hospital, and will be the first service of its kind for the Caithness and Sutherland area.
This will be a consultant led service. Patients referred by their GPs will attend at a hospital, without the need to wait for a clinic appointment. A similar but nurse-led service is offered at Raigmore Hospital with support from consultant cardiologists.
Dr Naqvi explained that patients will be referred to the new service by their GP and stressed that it is only for patients who are in a stable condition. These patients will be seen within five working days of referral. Those who require urgent assessment will continue to be seen at the hospital’s Accident and Emergency department.
Patients who have been referred to the service will attend at Rosebank Ward at Caithness General Hospital in the morning. The relevant tests and assessments will be carried out by the medical consultant and they will go home the same day.
Dr Naqvi said: “There has been a change in the guidelines for the management of angina, which have led to a shift away from treadmill testing to rule out angina and towards newer forms of diagnostic testing. Patients in Caithness and Sutherland will benefit from best practice, evidence-based medicine, including timely referral for diagnostic cardiac tests, such as heart scans and angiograms, as appropriate."
Dr NaqviThis service will enable earlier diagnosis of angina, which improves the chances of managing the condition more effectively. It will increase patient satisfaction, reduce waiting times and streamline the care they receive.”
He added that he and other members of the team who will be providing the service at Caithness General Hospital are extremely grateful to their Cardiology and Radiology colleagues at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness for their valuable input and support in helping to set up this service.