Around 1,200 people in Tower Hamlets have a diagnosis of heart failure and this syndrome has been one of the top ten causes of hospital re-admissions over the last four years.
Our team
The community heart failure team comprises of four specialist community heart failure nurses, a bilingual support worker, and a team secretary.
Each nurse is responsible for a caseload of patients within a specified Tower Hamlets locality or area, and works very closely with your GP, cardiologist and the heart failure team at Barts and The London NHS trust.
The bilingual support worker helps us to understand better the needs of the Bengali population within Tower Hamlets and provides interpretation and advocacy as required.
Our team secretary is available to deal with any queries that patients and their relatives or carers may have and will ensure you are given accurate information or put you in touch with an appropriate health professional as necessary.
Our services
We see all patients with a diagnosis of ‘heart failure’. This diagnosis means that the heart muscle is not pumping properly, and cannot keep up with the body’s need for oxygen, especially during exercise.
Heart failure can significantly impact quality of life and make sufferers feel very unwell. In particular, individuals can feel very breathless during exercise such as walking or climbing the stairs, or when lying flat in bed.
Heart failure is a serious illness and presently there is no cure. However, there have been substantial advances in treatments which reduce symptoms and improve quality of life.
A specialist heart failure nurse with support from the family doctor can decide, in discussion with the patient, what medication is most appropriate to improve quality of life and support the functioning of the heart muscle.
In addition, we will provide information about all the important lifestyle changes needed to enable better self management and recognition of important symptoms which may mean further advice and treatment is needed.
All patients referred to the service will be contacted by telephone or letter within one week in order to arrange the first visit.
We will see patients as often as required to ensure that all important medications are prescribed at the right dose and that patients, their families and carer’s have the right support to manage the heart failure.
Where to find us
The service is available for all heart failure patients who are registered with a family doctor in Tower Hamlets.
At present we do not have any clinics because we see all patients in their own homes. However, we plan to develop community clinics that will be based at local health centres.
The service operates from Monday-Friday, from 9am to 5pm and is closed on bank holidays.
Appointments
Patients can be referred to our service by family doctors, hospital doctors, community matrons, case managers and the heart failure service at the London Chest Hospital. If you feel that this service is appropriate for you, a relative or a person you care for, please contact us.
Appointments can be arranged, changed or cancelled by contacting our team secretary, Liz Apara on 0208 223 8655.
Contact us
For further information, please contact us.
