Spotlight Autumn/Winter 2023

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The difference your donations have made We are so grateful for the support you give us which truly does make an enormous difference to the hospital, our patients and their families. Take a look at just some of things we have been able to do thanks to you! Support for the Cardiac Catheterisation Centre We were able to purchase of a new Echo Navigation System which provides speedier and better results for those undergoing interventional cardiac procedures. The software enables the fusing of Live 3D Transoesophageal Echo and live Xray imaging for guidance in dealing with crossing difficult lesions and provides a more accurate placement of devices. Tomorrow’s medicine today During the past year, the charity was able to provide a grant for the purchase of a Pulse Wave Analysis System.This will be used in a study to measure blood pressure centrally via a specialist system called Pulse Wave Analysis. This measurement is more accurate in recognising “true” blood pressure in the aorta and assists clinicians to recognise when patients may have unrecognised and untreated high blood pressure (hypertension). A dedicated Echocardiography Suite Every year around 4,000 patients receive an Echocardiogram. These are vital for the diagnosis and management of heart conditions. Many patients cannot be discharged without having undergone an Echo procedure, but the existing facilities were hot, uncomfortable and ill-equipped to deal with the patient numbers. By supporting the establishment of a new suite for Echocardiography LHCH Charity was able to provide a facility that addressed all of these issues, optimising staff time, reducing patient stress and accelerating patient discharge reducing pressure on bed spaces. Helping to reduce delirium in critically ill patients Building on the success of our earlier campaign to help reduce delirium amongst our most poorly patients LHCH Charity supported the purchase of an additional six Sky Ceiling Tiles for our Intensive Care Unit. One of the major contributors to the onset of delirium is disassociation (the loss of understanding of time and surroundings). The ceiling tiles provide an understanding of the passage of time, helping to maintain regular sleep patterns which is a key element in the fight against disassociation. So again, thank you for all you do and if you would like to get involved in another important campaign just turn the page to learn more. 18 - Spotlight Autumn/Winter 2023 Spotlight Autumn/Winter 2023 - 19
Why we need your help... As you know at LHCH we are a specialist centre for the treatment of heart disease. Treatments can range from cardiac imaging and diagnostics to emergency care following a heart attack. For those who require surgery we have 15 surgeons who provide a 24-hour, 7 day a week service for both planned and emergency procedures. Over 2,000 of the patients who have heart operations with us will require post-operative intensive care because they are designated as high-risk. This could be because of the nature of their procedure, their age or the fact that they have other existing health issues. The monitoring of these patients is absolutely essential to ensure they make a good recovery. Often this means that they are connected to a wide range of monitoring machines including heart monitors, artificial ventilators, and instruments to measure fluids and blood gases. However, even with all this monitoring equipment it can be difficult to identify what the cause is when patients are not recovering as they should. At the present time if a patient is in this position, they will require a further invasive procedure known as pulmonary artery catheterisation. LHCH has recently trialled a new, state of the art system of minimally invasive monitoring which attaches to the existing radial artery line inserted during the initial surgery. Thanks to this system medical teams are able to have early warnings of potential problems such as detection of sepsis and shock, low blood pressure or unstable blood pressure which can lead to stroke. The benefits don’t just stop at early detection however it ensures that the patient is receiving the correct amount of fluids and drugs, providing an individual regime of care for each patient. It significantly reduces the risk of post-operative complications such as stroke or kidney injury. It leads to a shorter recovery time meaning that patients spend less time in Intensive Care reducing the risk of delirium and it's more cost-effective as it reduces the need for further major treatment. LHCH Charity wants to ensure that every patient that needs it will have access to this monitoring system so we are launching a campaign to raise the funds to purchase six of these machines, one of each of the intensive care beds set aside for high-risk cardiac patients. The cost of each machine is £25,000 so we are asking you to give whatever you can to help us make those most at risk following heart surgery have a faster and safer recovery. This is not without risk to a patient who is already very poorly but there is a way that this problem can be addressed without the need for further surgery. 20 - Spotlight Autumn/Winter 2023 Spotlight Autumn/Winter 2023- 21
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Spotlight Autumn/Winter 2023

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