Hong Kong hospital’s cardiology nurse clinic helps keep admission rates down for patients with heart disease
Clinic at Queen Elizabeth Hospital helps patients adjust medication levels when issues arise so they don’t have to be hospitalised
As hospitals battle a surge in patients during peak flu season, Hong Kong’s first accredited cardiology nurse clinic has been proven to reduce hospital admission rates for heart disease patients, the latest figures show.
The cardiology nurse clinic at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, set up in 2010, deals with patients who have just undergone major heart surgery and helps them assess and adjust medication levels when problems arise.
In two of the four sub-clinics, the hospital admission rate has been reduced by up to 66 per cent from 2013 to 2014, according to the clinic’s latest figures.
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There were 34 hospital admissions in 2014, down from 101 in the previous year, at one of the clinics that serves patients who have undergone coronary angioplasty operation, a surgical procedure that uses a balloon to clear clogged arteries.
The specialist clinic served 1,485 patients in 2014, more than half of the total cardiology patients the hospital served in the same year.
I knew that if I called the ambulance, I would have to stay in the hospital.
It is further divided into four sub-clinics that target different heart disease patients, helping to minimise the need for them to be admitted into hospital or to use emergency services – a scarcity during every year’s winter surge.
“In the four to six months after the surgery before the patient has a checkup, the clinic can serve sub-acute patients to help stabilise their condition,” said Cecilia Chan Miu-ching, the clinic’s nurse consultant.
The clinic also provides a hotline for patients, manned by qualified nurses specialising in cardiology to administer medication adjustments according to a well-established protocol.
Liu Sau-yuet, 68, who has had two major heart surgeries, said the nurses helped her figure out why she was bruising and bleeding so easily.
“I knew that if I called the ambulance, I would have to stay in the hospital,” said Liu.
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Liu had used Dit Da Jow, or iron hit wine – a traditional Chinese herbal medical oil – to reduce the swelling on her twisted ankles for more than a month. But the Chinese medicine, which was absorbed into the bloodstream, interfered with the anticoagulant medication.
Anticoagulants prevent blood clots that could lead to strokes, but also make sure that the blood is not too thin, which could be lead to excessive bleeding with an open wound.
Chan explained that prolonged use of traditional Chinese ointments is very common among the older generation, and the clinic’s services have helped reduce cases from patients like Liu, who would have been admitted unnecessarily to the hospital under such circumstances.
