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Review of paediatric cardiology services in district general hospitals in the United Kingdom

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 May 2015

Hannah Andrews  and
Yogen Singh
Hannah Andrews
Affiliation:
Birmingham University Medical School, Birmingham, United Kingdom
Yogen Singh*
Affiliation:
Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, United Kingdom
*
Correspondence to: Dr Y. Singh MBBS, MD, FRCPCH, Consultant Neonatologist and Paediatrician with Expertise in Cardiology, Box 402, NICU, Department of Neonatology and Paediatric Cardiology, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, United Kingdom. Tel: +44 122 321 6240; Fax: +44 122 321 7064; E-mail: Yogen.Singh@nhs.net
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Abstract

Abstract

Following the Safe and Sustainable review of Paediatric Services in 2012/2013, National Health Service England recommended that local paediatric cardiology services should be provided by specially trained paediatricians with expertise in cardiology in all non-specialist hospitals.

Aim

To understand the variation in local paediatric cardiology services provided across district general hospitals in the United Kingdom.

Study design and methods

An internet-based questionnaire was sent out via the Paediatrician with Expertise in Cardiology Special Interest Group and the Neonatologists with Interest in Cardiology and Haemodynamics contact databases and the National Health Service directory. Non-responders were followed-up via telephone.

Results

The response rate was 80% (141 of 177 hospitals), and paediatricians with expertise in cardiology were available in 68% of those. Local cardiology clinics led by paediatricians with expertise in cardiology were provided in 96 hospitals (68%), whereas specialist outreach clinics were held in 123 centres (87%). A total of 11 hospitals provided neither specialist outreach clinics nor any local cardiology clinics led by paediatricians with expertise in cardiology. Paediatric echocardiography services were provided in 83% of the hospitals, 12-lead electrocardiogram in 96%, Holter electrocardiogram in 91%, and exercise testing in only 47% of the responding hospitals. Telemedicine facilities were established in only 52% of the centres, where sharing echocardiogram images via picture archiving and communication system was used most commonly.

Conclusion

There has been a substantial increase in the availability of paediatricians with expertise in cardiology since 2008. Most of the hospitals are well-supported by specialist cardiology centres via outreach clinics; however, there remains significant variation in the local paediatric cardiology services provided across district general hospitals in the United Kingdom.

Keywords

Paediatric cardiology services in district general hospitalspaediatricians with expertise in cardiologyechocardiography
Type
Original Articles
Information
Cardiology in the Young , Volume 26 , Issue 3 , March 2016 , pp. 528 - 531
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Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2015 

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References

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