Our Cardiac Investigations Unit gets £1.2m expansion and upgrade
Work has been completed on a £1.2m extension to Kettering General Hospital’s Cardiac Investigations Department.
The expanded department – which carries out 22,000 investigations each year – will now provide quicker care in a more spacious and well-equipped environment.
KGH’s Principal Cardiac Physiologist, Sean Thuis, said: “Kettering General Hospital provides key cardiology services for Northamptonshire – including many emergency procedures for people with heart problems.
“The Cardiac Investigations Department supports this work by carrying out the tests which determine whether people have heart problems
“Demand for our services has increased significantly over the last 10 years which had put a lot of pressure on our 15-year-old facilities.
“As a result we have built a two-storey structure in an empty space between our existing cardiac investigations unit and radiology department to enable us to significantly expand the department.”
Work was completed during Covid-19 pandemic
Work began in November 2019 and has just been completed.
The improved department now has:
- Dedicated rooms for Pacemaker and “One Stop” Clinics with larger footprint than the existing accommodation.
- Three Scanning Rooms for Cardiac Ultrasound, increasing its capacity by 50%
- A new Procedure Room to allow more complex tests to be undertaken
- A larger Exercise Tolerance Testing room
- Three electrocardiogram (ECG) cubicles close to a new entrance area
- An additional waiting area giving the department 50% more seating
- A larger reception desk and clerical office to accommodate the extra staff needed for making appointments
- A rest area that can accommodate 50% more staff (the department has 35 more staff compared with 10 a decade ago!)
Dr Simon Hetherington, Clinical Director for Cardiology, added: “This additional space in the department will allow us to increase cardiac ultrasound capacity during the working week – which will reduce the extra costs we had of weekend clinics.”
Sean added: “The refurbishment work also allows the Trust to use the space a lot more effectively for our patients. This will involve increasing use of “one stop clinics” which means, in many cases, patients will see a consultant and have their tests done at the same time.
“This has the potential to significantly improve the experience for patients, reducing the time from GP referral to treatment.”
Other improvements include a much larger and updated Echo Reporting Room which will improve the working environment for the Trust’s physiologists which is currently very cramped.
It will also house the Trust’s recently purchased echocardiography simulator – which enables staff to be taught how to use specialist machines to detect heart problems.
