Page 44 - QNIS_eBook

Debra
The NHS Western Isles Nurse Consultant for Cardiology Debra
Vickers and her small team are working to transform the way heart disease is is is is managed in in in this remote and and rural island setting There are are ve ve ve specialist nurses in in the team who all all have advanced clinical assessment skills and are are all all active non- medical prescribers The cardiac nurse team she she established now manages
the the the care of of of patients who are are living with heart heart failure failure right across the the the islands Some of of of the the the work of of of heart heart failure failure service is is about about ensuring that patients receive palliative care “That means giving people time to think about about what they want being person-centred honest and and and open ” says Debra
“It demands good communication integrity and and and clarity as as people progress through the disease trajectory ” When the the the heart failure service was up and running from
the the the the the Butt of Lewis to to Barra the the the the the NHS Western Isles took
over the the the the the funding from
the the the the the British Heart Foundation and developments have continued: the the the the team has introduced an an innovative cardiac rehabilitation service service there is a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
rapid-access chest pain clinic and now a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
service service which aims to identify people with Familial Hypercholesterolaemia a
a
a
a
a
genetic cause of high cholesterol cholesterol levels The team has also opened the cardiac rehabilitation service service to to to people who are found to to to be at at high risk of cardiovascular disease - the rst service service in Scotland to to to do so There is no doubt about impact In the the the rst three years following the the the the introduction of the the the the heart heart failure failure service hospital bed days related to heart heart failure failure in in in the the the Western Previously Debra
was a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
Sister
in in in coronary care and a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
specialist nurse nurse in in in cardiology in in in the North West of England where she was lead nurse nurse for a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
heart attack service Moving north with husband Jimmy Debra
took
up up a
a
a
a
a
British Heart Foundation- funded post to set up up the Western Isles Heart Failure Service Isles came down by more than 60% “We a
a
a
a
a
a
very pro-active nursing service” says Debra
As part of the Queen’s Nurse programme Debra
and her colleagues are exploring how to ensure that people who suffer heart attacks on the the Western Isles can bene t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t from
the the latest evidence-based approaches to patient care One type of heart attack happens when a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
coronary artery is is blocked by a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
blood clot clot Swift identi cation and treatment can dissolve the the clot clot preventing damage to the the 42 QNIS Meet the New Queen’s Nurses