Cardiology

Locala’s Cardiology Service has two teams – the Cardiac Rehabilitation team and the Heart Failure team.

Our patients need to be registered with a Kirklees GP. Patients are referred for Cardiac Rehabilitation or to the Heart Failure Team by GP surgeries, hospital services, district nurses, community matrons, therapy services and specialist nurses.

Cardiac Rehabilitation

Our Cardiac Rehabilitation team works with patients who are recovering from a heart attack or heart surgery. Cardiac Rehabilitation can make it possible for people to return to a full and active life. The team helps people re-gain confidence and the level of fitness they need to do the everyday activities that matter to them.

Heart Failure

Our Heart Failure team supports people with chronic heart failure. The team works with patients to help them better understand their condition. Supporting patients and their families includes guidance on medication and offering advice on how to manage living with their heart failure symptoms.

What we do

Cardiac Rehabilitation team

The team work with patients following a heart attack or heart surgery. The team is made up from nursing staff and therapists, including a physiotherapist, exercise physiologist and a physio assistant who is a qualified exercise trainer.

You will first have contact with the nursing team, who will assess your condition and support you with your medications and any questions you have on your return home from hospital. Our aim is to help you achieve the healthiest lifestyle possible. We can give you information about other services such as ‘stopping smoking’ and healthy eating. The therapy team can continue supporting you, whether it be for specialist advice regarding exercise or simply teach you how to undertake physical activity safely. They can advise you on what activities you can return to, so you can continue living an active life.

If, following assessment, it’s found we are not the most appropriate service to be involved in your care, we can let you know about the relevant services that are more suitable for you and sign post you there.

We provide;

• Telephone appointments
• Home visits
• Clinic appointments
• Health education sessions
• Exercise programmes

Heart Failure team

The team work with patients who have been confirmed as having heart failure following a heart scan. The team monitor signs and symptoms of heart failure and advise patients and their families on how to manage these symptoms. The team is comprised of nurse specialist practitioners and staff nurses who are experienced in providing care for patients diagnosed with heart failure.  The nurses adjust medication regimes and provide advice on healthier lifestyles. We can refer you to the therapy team for support with activity levels or to the Kirkwood team, who support people in managing the long- term limitations the condition imposes on lifestyle and emotional wellbeing.

Through guidance and support, the team enable people living with heart failure to be as confident and skilled as possible in managing their symptoms.  This is often called maximising independence or self-care.

We provide;

• Home visits
• Telephone appointments
• Medication checks
• Clinic appointments

What we don’t do

The Cardiac Rehabilitation team and the Heart Failure team are unable to;

• Help you if you need urgent emergency medical care
• Access your hospital medical records, or arrange your hospital appointments
• Complete your insurance or social application forms - if you need assistance with this, we can tell you who can help you
• Carry out social care for example, bathing, washing, dressing
• Assess and treat wounds – our District Nurse colleagues see to this
• Provide a collection and delivery service e.g. medication and medical supplies

Working together – what we expect from you;

• If you can’t attend an appointment – including a telephone appointment – please let us know by ringing ‘Single Point of Contact’ on 0300 304 5555. We can give the appointment to another patient.

We expect our team to be able to work easily and safely;

• If the appointment is in your home, please do not smoke in any rooms where nurses may be working for one hour prior to your visit and no illegal drugs should be present. Pets should be under control or removed from the room during the visit.
• We have a zero-tolerance approach towards aggression, violence and verbal abuse.