HEART IN THE RIGHT PLACE:THE AMBULATORY CARDIOLOGY UNIT

摘要

How we deliver healthcare is rapidly changing. In 2015 the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust piloted the Ambulatory Cardiology Unit (ACU), with the aim of improving quality of care. ACU provides a facility where patients attending the emergency department with new or known cardiac conditions can receive early follow up and evaluation by the cardiology team. For clinical presentations such as syncope, timely assessment by specialist staff has already been shown to reduce unnecessary hospitalisations, improve diagnostic rates, and reduce healthcare costs.1