A new £5.5m cardiac centre has opened at Luton and Dunstable Hospital.
The facility means the hospital is now able to provide treatments including coronary angiograms, coronary angioplasty and pacemaker implantation. Previously, patients requiring these treatments had to travel long distances outside the local area to hospitals in London and Bedfordshire, and face longer waiting times.
It has been our ambition for many years to extend the specialist care we provide locally for our patients. This will include coronary angiography and pacemaker implantation. In time we are also planning to expand the service to perform coronary artery interventions such as stenting
The development was funded through ProCure21 led by construction firm, Osborne, as part of the Medicinq consortium.
The centre has been built on the site of the hospital’s former courtyard and records storage area and contains a fully-functional catheterisation laboratory, two clinical rooms, a six-bed recovery ward, three single-bed recovery rooms, a waiting room, and staff facilities.
Work on the site started in August 2011, with the demolition of a number of internal structural walls in order to create space for the new laboratory. Once the walls were demolished, replacements were erected from steel, brick and blockwork in order to shape the layout of the new facility. The next stage of the project involved the installation of mechanical and electrical services to connect important ventilation equipment. Additional work included the installation of vinyl flooring and the complete fit-out of the building, along with a new reception desk, medical-grade cupboards, storage facilities and nursing stations.
It is important that patients receive a quick and accurate diagnosis so they can progress with their treatment and rehabilitation, and the new facility will allow the hospital to provide this important service on site
Consultant cardiologist and clinical director, Dr Christopher Travill, said of the development: “This is a landmark day for the hospital now that we finally have a specialist cardiac catheterisation and procedures facility.
“We are so proud and excited to be standing at the threshold of realising our dream of having our own cardiac centre. It has been our ambition for many years to extend the specialist care we provide locally for our patients. This will include coronary angiography and pacemaker implantation. In time we are also planning to expand the service to perform coronary artery interventions such as stenting.”
Elizabeth Smith, head of healthcare at Osborne, added: “As a former cardiac nurse, I’m very aware of how important it is these patients receive a quick and accurate diagnosis so they can progress with their treatment and rehabilitation, and the new facility will allow the hospital to provide this important service on site.
“This project brought its own challenges because of the issues that arise when working in a live hospital environment, so to limit the impact our work had on the hospital’s patients, we made the decision to carry out some works during the night when the hospital was quieter, a move which worked well for all involved.”
