News

Kettering General Hospital has completed a £2.3m upgrade of two of its Cardiac Catheter Laboratory procedures rooms for heart patients.

 

The move will mean consultant cardiologists and their teams have access to the latest in cardiac intervention, x-ray and ultrasound equipment when carrying out potentially life-saving heart procedures.

 

The upgrade was completed on July 31 following seven months of phased work.

 

Consultant Cardiologist, and Clinical Lead for Cardiology, Dr Simon Hetherington, said: “We are delighted that this major upgrade has now been completed to help us improve the quality and safety of our services.

 

“New equipment in the two laboratories gives us higher definition images enabling us to perform procedures more quickly and safely.

 

“The new technology also means less radiation is used when x-ray imaging is taken to guide procedures like fitting stents to open up blocked arteries.”

 

The upgrade of KGH’s Catheter Laboratories is also part of the Trust’s overall improvement plans for the year ahead and will help lay a strong foundation for further collaboration with Northampton General Hospital to improve the county’s cardiac services.

 

Dr Hetherington, who is leading the clinical side of the hospital’s cardiology collaboration work, said: “As we move forward the county’s two cardiac teams at KGH and NGH are looking at ways in which we can work together to improve care for local people with heart problems.

 

“KGH is currently the 24/7 centre for primary percutaneous coronary intervention – the emergency procedure used to save lives when people are having a heart attack.

 

“Having the upgrade of our Catheter Laboratories will help us to further improve this service which supports more than 500 people a year.

 

“Most of our patients are from Northamptonshire but also we are the closest heart attack centre for patients in parts of Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and Leicestershire – so we are playing an increasingly important regional role.

 

“Working together with NGH we already have facilities which are equal to large cardiac surgical centres.

 

“By working collaboratively with NGH we have the potential to provide an even greater range of further improved services to the people of Northamptonshire.”

 

Work on the two Laboratories was phased and took place between January and July 2020 with essential cardiac services for local people maintained throughout the period.

 

Dr Hetherington said: “When we first launched the hospital’s Cardiac Centre in 2007 it was at the cutting edge of cardiac care but of course technology moves on.

 

“The work we have just completed was needed to replace the equipment in two of our three Cardiac Catheter Laboratories in order to make the best use of that new technology and to stay up to date.”