PEOPLE having heart attacks have a new chance of life now a specialist nurse is in post at West Suffolk hospital.Life saving thrombolysis, which thins the patients blood can now be given in Accident and Emergency rather than waiting to get to the cardiac care unit.

By Jessica Nicholls

PEOPLE having heart attacks have a new chance of life now a specialist nurse is in post at West Suffolk hospital.

Life saving thrombolysis, which thins the patients blood can now be given in Accident and Emergency rather than waiting to get to the cardiac care unit.

Hazel Tully is the Thrombolysis Project Nurse/Chest Pain Assessment Nurse and has been working to raise the profile of the Government's National Service Framework in Coronary Heart Disease, focusing on achieving the target for patients admitted with heart attacks (myocardial infarction).

The target is for 75 per cent of such patients to receive thrombolysis within 30 minutes of arrival in hospital. In April 2003, the aim will be for this to happen within 20 minutes of arrival.

Last year we revealed that Ipswich Hospital were making strides to meet guidelines by taking patients straight to their cardiac care team rather than having to go through Accident and Emergency.

A specialist team is on hand all day every day to give suspected heart attack patients treatment in the quickest possible time.

When it comes to heart attacks every second counts and the patient stands a higher chance of survival the sooner the Thrombolysis drug is administered.

Extensive clinical trials have proven that prompt administration of thrombolysis reduces mortality rates and improves clinical outcomes.

Ms Tully will be concentrating on improving communications between departments as well as supporting clinicians with chest pain management.

She will also be teaching nursing and medical staff about the correct treatment for patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome.

Developing links with the Ambulance Service and the Primary Care Trust to improve the patient's journey to treatment for suspected heart attack cases is another priority.

Paramedics in the East Anglian Ambulance Service are also being trained to be able to give the treatment on the way to hospital if it is established that the patient is having a heart attack.