£2m heart unit gets first patients (From Prestwich and Whitefield Guide)

£2m heart unit gets first patients

10:50am Friday 17th August 2012 in News

THE first heart patients have been treated at a new £2 million unit at Fairfield General Hospital in Bury.

The Silver Heart Unit, a high-tech purpose-built cardiology centre, opened on Monday after the refurbishment of existing wards.

Now the unit will treat thousands of people with coronary heart disease and complex heart problems every year, providing complex tests and specialist procedures.

The unit has transferred from Rochdale Infirmary as part of changes to cardiology and stroke services in the area.

Patients from across Bury, Oldham, north Manchester, Rochdale and parts of east Lancashire will be treated there.

The unit has two state-of-the-art cardiac catheterisation labs, which are used for specialist services and fitting pacemakers for heart failure.

There is a team of 12 cardiology consultants, specialist cardiac nurses, cardiac physiologists, cardiac radiographers, coronary care nurses and support staff.

They will be assisted by the hospital’s radiology teams, anaesthetists and administration staff.

Supporting the unit is a new 28-bed integrated cardiology unit, made up of an acute coronary care ward and interventional cardiac ward.

Consultant cardiologist Dr Tim Gray, from Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Fairfield, said: “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-proofed at least for the next ten years or so.

“As a clinician, using brand new state-of the art equipment is great. The imaging quality is fantastic. The staff seem happy and so do our patients.”

The first patient to be treated on the unit was the Mayor of Whitworth, Cllr David Barnes, who is a member of the hospital trust’s joint health overview and scrutiny committee.

He has had heart problems for 20 years and was fitted with a pacemaker in December.

Last Thursday, he woke in excruciating pain and underwent an angiogram on the unit on Monday.

Mr Barnes, aged 67, from Rossendale, said: “The new facility is space age. I can say the coronary care unit and the new Silver Heart Unit are absolutely wonderful.

“It is run by the most caring and professional people I’ve ever come across. I’m being very well looked after.”