Your care at The London Chest

clinic you need to be seen in. If for any reason we need to change
the time or date of your appointment, we will tell you this in plenty
of time.
I’ll have to travel further than I do at the moment to get to St
Bartholomew’s. Can I get help with travel?
If you are already eligible for help with transport or transport
costs, this will continue - ask the team who are caring for you for
more information on how to get help, or for a copy of our separate
leaflet on transport to St Bartholomew’s.
Patient information
Where can I find out more information?
If you currently access services at the London Chest Hospital,
these services will be moving to other Barts Health NHS Trust
sites from early 2015.
As we get nearer to the time when services will move, we will
provide more information on our websites and on posters and
leaflets in clinics and inpatient areas. Look out for these or ask a
member of the team who is caring for you.
Your care at The London Chest
This leaflet tells you more about what this means for you and
your care.
Patient Advice and Liaison Service
If you need general information or advice about Trust services,
please contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) on
020 3594 2040 or visit www.bartshealth.nhs.uk/pals. Alternatively
please contact staff who are providing your care if you require
clinical advice.
Large print and other languages
For this leaflet in large print, please ring 020 3594 2040
or 020 3594 2050.
For help interpreting this leaflet in other languages,
please ring 020 8223 8934.
Reference: BH/PIN/302
Publication date:
All our patient information leaflets are reviewed every three years.
©Barts Health NHS Trust
Switchboard: 020 3416 5000
www.bartshealth.nhs.uk
Cardiovascular Department
Over recent years we have been working to develop the Barts
Heart Centre, a new, state-of–the-art cardiovascular centre at St
Bartholomew’s Hospital. The Centre will have the latest equipment
and facilities for treating cardiovascular conditions and heart attacks
and will offer our patients an improved environment when
accessing cardiology services.
What is happening?
After many years of service, the London Chest Hospital can no
longer meet the needs of modern healthcare provision and will be
closing in spring 2015. Barts Health has built a brand new, state-ofthe-art cardiovascular centre at St Bartholomew’s Hospital. The
Barts Heart Centre, will be home to most of the services that we
currently provide at The London Chest Hospital.
At the same time, we are working with our colleagues in the NHS
on plans to move cardiovascular services from the Heart Hospital,
currently part of University College Hospitals NHS Foundation
Trust, into the Barts Heart Centre. Local cardiology, heart failure,
rapid access chest pain and cardiac rehab services will continue to
be provided in Tower Hamlets at the Royal London Hospital.
allows dedicated teams to develop and keep improving their skills
– especially in areas where treatments and techniques change
quickly.
By moving services into a single location and a brand new facility,
we can bring together our existing unique experience and
research activity. This will help us increase the number of patients
who get the chance to take part in clinical trials. In turn, we could
increase our understanding of and ability to address the root
causes of heart attacks and strokes - for example, by increasing
the number of patients with atrial fibrillation whose condition can
be effectively managed in the community, reducing their risk of
serious illness.
When will services move?
We are planning for all services at The London Chest Hospital to
move to St Bartholomew’s Hospital and the Royal London
Hospital in early 2015. Once all services have moved, The
London Chest Hospital will close. We expect services at The
Heart Hospital, currently part of University College Hospitals NHS
Foundation Trust, to start moving to St Bartholomew’s during
2015.
Why are these changes being made?
We want to be able to offer our patients the best possible care and
to do so in up-to-date surroundings and with the latest equipment.
We already provide high quality cardiovascular services, however,
these services suffer from a lack of space and capacity and
outdated facilities, meaning that we often face problems such as
having to cancel or postpone patients’ appointments and
procedures. They are also not large enough to meet all current and
future expectations for a high quality service.
What does this mean for me and my care?
As has been proven with the improvements in stroke care by
providing larger specialist units, we believe that we can save more
lives if our expert teams are seeing a higher number of patients in a
single, larger centre. Seeing more patients with the same condition
What if I already have appointments booked in 2015?
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From early 2015, most patients who are currently treated at the
London Chest Hospital will start to be treated at St
Bartholomew’s. Local cardiology, heart failure, rapid access chest
pain and cardiac rehab services will be provided at the Royal
London Hospital. If plans are approved, patients at the Heart
Hospital will also start to be treated at St Bartholomew’s during
2015.
We will keep your appointment for you, but we will tell you in
plenty of time exactly where it will be. It will either be at St
Bartholomew’s or the Royal London Hospital, depending on which
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