New Cardiology facilities in Basingstoke will expand service
A new lab is being built to help prevent patients having to travel out of the area for treatment
A new cardiology laboratory is to built at Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital which health officials say will help increase the number of patients that can be treated locally.
At the moment some patients needing help for heart irregularities have to travel out of the area for treatment.
The two new labs will replace the current lab and a temporary facility located in Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital.
The Cardiac Catheter Laboratory (Cath Lab) at HHFT is used to perform cardiac procedures which transform quality of life for many patients and are life saving for others.
The demand for these services at HHFT has grown over the past few years and has resulted in a 22 per cent increase in the number of procedures the trust performs since 2012.
Dr Lara Alloway, chief medical officer at HHFT, said:
“This is a very exciting development for the trust. Having two new cardiac catheterisation labs will support our staff to keep providing outstanding care to those who need us.”
The trust say the expansion means they can continue to deliver safe, sustainable emergency and elective cardiac procedure services, and be there for the growing number of patients needing cardiac interventions. The increased capacity will allow the trust to provide curative treatments for abnormal heart rhythms currently undertaken in other hospitals, on the Basingstoke site and closer to patient’s homes, and will include a dedicated ambulance entrance to provide direct emergency access to the labs.
After receiving planning permission for the new build in August 2021, construction works started in September 2021. The modular build and equipment installation will be complete by September 2022 and fully operational in October 2022.