Southport and Formby Health are a GP owned company who are customers of both ECG On-Demand and our sister company within DHC Group, Venturi Cardiology.
We talked with Helen Mason, Community Cardiology Services Manager, to find out how Southport and Formby are providing their fantastic community cardiology service.
The service was established 6 years ago to provide specialised guidance and management of cardiac symptoms within the Southport and Formby area, cutting down the need for multiple hospital appointments, often far from home.
Southport and Formby Health are able to offer the local adult population access to a cardiology consultant and ECG, Holter and echocardiogram tests. If the patient needs specialist Cardiology input, they can be further referred to a local Trust or flagship centre, Liverpool Heart and Chest.
Helen stated that the service has had a massive impact on the local community. As a result of their community model, they are able to offer waiting times of no more than 8 weeks, as opposed to waits over 8 months within NHS secondary care.
Patients were surveyed and 96% of those asked said that they found the service excellent, praising the fact that they are able to access specialist services locally with no extra cost to themselves through hospital visits and the often hefty parking charges associated with it.
Southport and Formby Health initially partnered with ECG On-Demand to provide a Holter service to the community through direct access to UK based, UK qualified cardiac physiologists.
Helen reports that Southport and Formby Health find the service excellent and the integration with EMIS helps the service run smoothly with no extra admin involved. Quick turnaround of Holter analysis ensures that they can continue to provide timely access to cardiac diagnostics.
Furthermore, they have found the IT technical support given by ECG On-Demand very user friendly, with issues explained in terms that are easy to understand. This has resulted in services running seamlessly.
After developing a strong relationship with ECG On-Demand, when the local ICB asked Southport and Formby to provide an interim 12-Lead ECG service, they approached us to develop this service.
Together, we were able to mobilise the new community 12-lead ECG service within just 3 weeks. A fantastic achievement for all involved. The service has gone from strength to strength as they have been able to increase their capacity even further, offering vital cardiac diagnostics to their community.
Alongside ECG On-Demand, fellow DHC Group company, Venturi Cardiology, provide Southport and Formby with specialist consultant cardiologists and access to community echocardiography services, without the need to visit large, busy hospitals with long waiting lists for scans.
Helen’s hope for the future is that the ICB will continue to partner with Southport and Formby Health past the interim period and develop into a community diagnostic centre partnership. Their 12-Lead service has recently been confirmed until at least April 2025. Helen has found that ECG On-Demand’s attentive account management has helped to support her case for the service, with monthly key performance indicator reports on both patients seen and how many serious arrhythmias have been captured, provided to back up the fabulous work Southport and Formby Health are doing for their community.
It goes without saying that Southport and Formby have clearly demonstrated that they are passionate and capable of providing such a service.
One example of their prowess is their recent nomination as finalists for the esteemed HSJ Partnership Awards in 2024, supported by Venturi Cardiology.
ECG On-Demand and Venturi Cardiology look forward to supporting them in their future endeavours.
Are you looking to develop your community cardiology service? Get in touch with one of our account managers, details are below.
