Omagh cardiology staff ‘tired’ providing top care

THE cardiology services in Omagh hospital have continued to provide excellent care for patients throughout the Covid-19 pandemic despite staff ‘feeling a bit tired.’

Covid-19 has presented severe challenges for the health service but despite this, the Cardiology Department at Omagh Hospital has continued to provide an exceptionally high level of performance during the pandemic.

Many changes have been made to health service provision, but  the Coronary Care Units, Cardiology Inpatient wards and Cardiac Assessment Unit are busy and have continued to care for the patients with the most serious heart problems.

The Cardiac Investigation Units in Omagh has maintained excellent care for patients both in terms of activity and standard, while rhe cardiac CT and MR services continue to investigate large numbers of patients, often with complex heart conditions.

The Cath lab has maintained a 24/7 service for treatment of heart attacks and has continued to investigate and treat patients through coronary angiography, stent implantation and pacemaker implantation without any break in service.

Speaking on behalf of Consultant Cardiologists in the Western Trust, Dr Paul McGlinchey and Dr Monica Monaghan said, “Our managers have been dealing with uncertainty on behalf of staff and patients to keep services intact and everyone safe.

“We have noticed that our colleagues in the various disciplines in Cardiology are feeling a bit tired; they have dealt with daily changes in practice, anxiety and stress and have covered for sick and isolating colleagues.

“They have not had time off during lockdowns. We thought that it was timely for us to recognise the commitment and endeavour they have shown to us, the Trust, the patients and the community we serve.”

Other services include heart failure nurses and the staff in the Our Hearts Our Minds programme who have been innovative and committed in maintaining a highly-functioning service for patients.

There have been innovations too in the 24/7 telephone advice service (028 8283 3129) and the Cardiology Hub which have been very successful due to the commitment of the staff involved.

Dr Paul McGlinchey and Dr Monica Monaghan continued, “We are extremely proud of how the doctors and staff, individually and collectively, have worked with resilience through all of the challenges to keep patient care at the forefront of what they and we do.

“We wanted to publicly show our appreciation and gratitude; we would also like to hear from patients and their friends and family, who can bear witness to the incredible work of the departments during this time. We hope that this can, in turn give them and us strength and fortitude in our work for the months yet to come.”