Specialist Nursing - Heart Failure Nurse

The Community Heart Failure Team supports and helps people with heart failure to manage their condition at home. As a team we provide a specialised service to patients who may not otherwise receive the specialist care that they need to self-manage their condition and avoid hospital admission. This is achieved through teaching and support for patients, their families and other health professionals.

Type

Adult Services - Specialist Nursing - Heart Failure Nurse

The Community Heart Failure Team supports and helps people with heart failure to manage their condition at home. As a team we provide a specialised service to patients who may not otherwise receive the specialist care that they need to self-manage their condition and avoid hospital admission. This is achieved through teaching and support for patients, their families and other health professionals.

Who is this service for? Adults with heart failure to help them manage their disorder.

How to access this service: For help and advice please visit your healthcare professional or GP and request a referral. Please note you may only refer yourself if you have received our service before.

About us

We support early diagnosis of heart failure within the community using echocardiography and other diagnostic techniques.

  • We detect and treat early signs of clinical deterioration and reduce the need for unnecessary hospital admissions and re-admissions.
  • We work alongside the heart failure teams of Kettering and Northampton General Hospitals to optimise the management of people with chronic heart failure and provide seamless care between hospital and general practice.
  • Our approach is to actively encourage and support self-management, to identify and develop support mechanisms for both patients and their carers, assisting in improving their quality of life. We also aim to improve the end of life experience for patients and their carers.
  • We act as a resource for other healthcare professionals. Referrals to our service can be made by any healthcare professional.
  • We work closely with palliative care service, district nurse service and GPs.

Contact us

The Community Heart Failure service is provided by two full time qualified nurses, 1 for the south of the county and 1 for the north of the county

North of the county
June Attwood
Romic House
Garrard Way
Kettering
Northants, NN16 8TD

Telephone: 01536 527462
Mobile: 07919 497695
Email: june.atwood1@nhs.net 

South of the county
Sharon Parker
Danetre Hospital
London Road
Daventry
Northants, NN11 4DY


Mobile:  07827 878492
Email: sharon.parker17@nhs.net

Refer to our service

All referrals must be housebound and unable to attend hospital appointment and must be adults over the age of 18.

All referrals must have an echo result that demonstrates either heart failure with a reduced ejection fraction or heart failure with preserved ejection fraction due to valve disease or uncontrolled atrial fibrillation.

Initial referrals must be made by a medical practitioner or health professional.

  • Recent hospital admission for deteriorating heart failure, with a high risk of readmission.
  • Newly diagnosed with heart failure with a high risk of readmission to hospital.
  • Unstable clinical condition in the community.
  • Optimisation of medications
  • Those with an echo demonstrating LVSD, diastolic dysfunction, right sided heart failure and valve disease
  • Patients who may benefit from additional specialist support to preventreadmissions.
  • Patients reaching their end of life with heart failure.

*This is not a 24 hour service or an emergency service but we are happy to discuss patients to offer support and guidance until they can be assessed.

Useful resources

We also run a heart failure programme in partnership with Lakelands Hospice Corby, where people are educated about the heart condition and are taught self-care management strategies. This is to help them with coping on a day to day basis with this disorder. Referrals to this programme can be made through a healthcare professional directly to the hospice on 01536 747859 or by fax 01536 747788

 

We also run a heart failure education programme in partnership with the wellness centre at Cynthia Spencer; this is open to all patients with a confirmed diagnosis of heart failure. It offers education about the condition and it’s treatment, also how to self-manage heart failure. Elements of exercise, breathing techniques and relaxation are also included in the programme which help to enable people to cope with the condition and its limitations.

To refer people for this programme please contact the wellness centre at Cynthia Spencer.

We are also involved in the development of SPOA for this service.