A new service to fit defibrillators in patients with life-threatening heart rhythm abnormalities has treated its first patients at the Cardiac Centre at Westmorland General Hospital.
Nicholas Feeney and Eleanor Wearden were the first patients to receive the treatment on Wednesday 17th July 2019.
Dr Sasalu Deepak, a Consultant Cardiologist and complex device specialist who performed the surgeries, said: “By offering this service locally, we will be helping to provide much easier access to treatment for our patients across Morecambe Bay. Although the defibrillators will be fitted at the Cardiac Centre at WGH, the follow-up appointments will be offered across the Trust’s main hospital sites in Kendal, Barrow and Lancaster. This will ultimately help to improve the patient experience.
“Having made a successful start, we look forward to establishing this comprehensive specialist commissioned service.”
The elective implant service will run up to three days per week with follow up services running five days a week with emergency cover at weekends. Patients are referred through our cardiology service, by their GP, and heart failure specialist nurses.
David Walker, Medical Director, UHMBT, said: “We are pleased that Dr Deepak, who maintained the continuity of our patients care for the last 6 years by implanting defibrillators at Blackpool on his tertiary specialist sessions can now finally implant them for patients locally with his colleagues at Morecambe, reducing the need for them to travel.”