Heart care standards unveiled

The review has acted as a "catalyst"

Heart patients have been given a clearer picture of what they should expect in terms of after care in Scottish hospitals.

The Clinical Standards Board, set up in 1999 to ensure that roughly the same standard of care is available throughout Scotland, has unveiled its first recommendations.

The new standards of care will provide a benchmark for health professionals treating patients who have suffered heart attacks, angina or other kinds of coronary heart disease.

It is estimated that 500,000 people in Scotland suffer from some form of coronary heart disease.

Susan Deacon: "Not a gimmick"

Under the new standards, patients who have had a heart attack will now be able to check the quality of their follow-up care against independently-assessed national standards.

Health Minister Susan Deacon said that if these standards are not met then the management of individual health trusts would be "held to account" by the Scottish Executive.

She said: "National standards are not optional. They are not a gimmick.

"What we are introducing today becomes core business for the NHS. An ambitious and fundamental root and branch change in the way the NHS operates."

The minister described the Scottish approach as "unique" and said it was "attracting recognition from the rest of the UK and overseas".

Six key areas of care will determine whether NHS staff and hospitals are judged to be meeting the national standard. These are:

• immediate management following a heart attack - specifically the speed with which clot-busting thrombolysis is administered;

• medication to reduce the risk of a further heart attack;

• assessment of risk factors, such as smoking and cholesterol;

• assessment of cardiovascular status by carrying out tests to establish the degree of damage to the heart;

• rehabilitation services;

• discharge planning and information.

Speaking at the launch of the report, Lord Naren Patel, chairman of the Clinical Standards Board, paid tribute to the commitment of the staff.

"The review itself has acted as a catalyst in encouraging staff to question and challenge the way they work," he said.

"It has brought together staff from different parts of NHS Scotland to share best practice and innovative ideas.

The review will reveal how hospitals are responding

"Members of the public who formed part of our review teams have enriched the process by providing an independent perspective and by focusing attention on the needs and preferences of patients."

Professor Ross Lorimer, chairman of the group responsible for the review, said: "This review provides further evidence of improvement in coronary heart disease service in Scotland.

"Secondary prevention is resulting in a better quality of life for people who have had a heart attack.

"However, the review has identified scope for improvement from which patients will benefit.

"Already we are seeing the service taking action to address the issues raised in our reports, and I am confident that those managing our health services will respond positively to our recommendations."

Complaints procedure

The new standards were broadly welcomed by the Scottish Conservatives who called on Susan Deacon to clarify what procedures were in place for taking failing hospitals to task.

The party's health spokeswoman Mary Scanlon said: "Patients who find that the care they receive does not match the standards outlined by the executive today need to be clear about what steps can be taken.

"They must not be subjected to a long drawn out and emotionally taxing complaints procedure - the last thing anyone needs when suffering from a heart condition.

"Susan Deacon claims to be 'championing' the new national standards. She must also champion the needs of patients by providing them with a clear and workable mechanism to which they can turn if they find that the care they receive is not of an acceptable standard."