Innovative Ideas Register

Congestive Heart Failure Programme

Development of the Initiative

The community cardiac programme at Hutt Hospital focuses on cardiac rehabilitation and congestive heart failure. The congestive heart failure programme aims to improve accessibility, availability and outcomes for patients/clients with heart failure and particularly Maori and Pacific Island peoples.

Results

Within Hutt Valley DHB the program has benefited the local population by:

• reducing admissions to inpatient services following intervention by the programme — 55.8% of CHF patients had no admissions during one year of follow-up
• reducting the average length of stay from 5.3 days before intervention to 4.92 days after implementation
• giving patients standardised care as well as ongoing support, monitoring and continued education
• supporting and educating the patient’s GP in the care of congestive heart failure and giving the GP easy access to secondary services via congestive heart failure nurse
• providing home visits by heart failure nurse to ensure patient’s treatment is personalised to own environment
• avoiding potential adverse events from medication errors, as the congestive heart failure nurse supervises and educates the patient on safe self-medicating practice — this process has demonstrated several saved adverse events
• giving the patient satisfaction with improved health, fewer hospital admissions and improved knowledgebase for self-managing their illness
• providing effective colloboration between primary and secondary care.

 

Primary Contact

Dr Tim O’Meeghan
Cardiology Services
Hutt Valley DHB
Private Bag 31 907
LOWER HUTT

Tel. (04) 566 6999 ext. 8339
email: tim.o'meeghan@huttvalleydhb.org.nz