Heart patients to get treated closer to home (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Heart patients to get treated closer to home

9:10am Wednesday 2nd May 2007 in Swindon By Gazette Reporter

Non-emergency heart patients can now have operations in Wiltshire, thanks to a new service at Swindon's Great Western Hospital.

The site opened its cardiology unit for elective angioplasty patients for the first time yesterday, as two patients had their blood vessels unblocked by cardiologists.

The procedure involves doctors inserting a plastic balloon into the main arteries leading into the heart via a tube inserted in the wrist or groin.

The balloon is inflated to open up blood vessels blocked with cholesterol. A small metal stent is then left inside the artery, holding it open so blood can flow through freely.

Consultant cardiologist Tom Hyde said: "This is a really, really safe procedure. We have been treating unstable patients for 12 months, so that would be people rushed into accident and emergency with angina or chest pains.

"But now stable, non-emergency patients can be treated here as well. Until now these patients would have had to travel to Bristol, Southampton or Oxford for the operation.

"They will get better care because of not having to travel."

In the past year, the cardiology unit has conducted 150 angioplasty operations on emergency patients. In the future, the unit hopes to be able to treat angina sufferers as day patients as well.

"With any new procedure it takes a bit of getting used to, but eventually people will be able to arrive in the morning, have the procedure under local anaesthetic and then go home again in afternoon," said Dr Hyde.

"If they have to travel to Bristol, it is unlikely they would be able to travel home after."

Peter Ferris was the first patient to be treated by cardiologist Edward Barnes yesterday. Before being wheeled into surgery, Mr Ferris, 66, said: "It's much easier being able to have this done in Swindon.

"I feel totally at ease that the doctors know what they are doing. It's going to make an awful lot of difference to my life, because once it's done I can have my hip replacement, hopefully, in about a month. "

He added: "I'm glad I didn't have to go to Bristol to have it."

Another patient, also being operated on yesterday, said this was the second time he had had angioplasty. "It is really good to be able to have this done in Swindon," he said.

"If you are in hospital and not feeling well, it's much more bearable if your family can visit easily."