Coronary intervention

Our pre-admission clinic helps to ensure you are as well informed as possible about your planned procedure, and to ensure you have all the necessary tests before your procedure takes place. 

Your pre-admission appointment will take place approximately 1-2 weeks before your date of admission and will be carried out on video by a clinical nurse specialist (CNS). We will let you know by letter or email the date of your pre-admission video appointment and what you need to do access the appointment. 

During your appointment, the nurse will talk to you about your planned procedure, what to expect when you are admitted to the hospital, and address any questions or concerns you may have.

The nurse will also take details of your medical history, any current symptoms, allergies and current medication, and height and weight (in metres and kg). Please make sure you have an up to date prescription list with you for the appointment. The nurse will let you know about any medication you need to stop taking ahead of your procedure. 

Why is the appointment carried out via video and not in the outpatient clinic?

We carry out our pre-admission assessments via video as we hope this will enable us to obtain the information we need, without causing too much inconvenience to our patients. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important we manage the number of patients making in-person visits to our hospitals, to help reduce the spread of infection and keep our patients and staff safe.

Your video appointment

The video appointment will take 30-40 minutes. The letter or email you will have received will contain a link to a secure video platform on which your appointment will take place. 

Upon clicking the link, you will be taken through some simple steps to ensure your video and microphone are set up correctly. You will then be asked to enter your name, date of birth and telephone number. No information will be stored. You will then enter a virtual waiting area where one of our nurses will join you when they are ready.

If you do not have access to the internet, or are unable to access the video platform, do not worry, we will telephone you to carry out your pre-admission appointment. 

Please have a pen and paper with you to write down any important information. If you are a non-English speaker, please ensure you have someone with you who will be able to translate. 

We will endeavour to carry out your appointment at the exact time on your letter, but please bear with us if there are any delays. 

COVID-19

To limit the chance of admitting patients to hospital who have COVID-19 but display no signs or symptoms of the disease, we are testing all patients prior to their admission to check if they are carrying the virus. This is to ensure that we keep you as safe as possible and reduce the chance of spreading the virus to other patients and staff.

The risks of having COVID-19 around the time of the treatment depend on the type of treatment and your risk factors. Generally, cardiac procedures can carry much greater risk of complications and death if COVID-19 develops around the time they take place. 

COVID-19 restrictions remain in place for admission to hospital. During the pre-admission appointment the clinical nurse specialist will provide restrictions that you will be required to adhere and COVID-19 testing that you will undergo to prior to admission.

Blood tests

Before you are admitted to hospital, we will need some up to date blood test results. We may be able to get these from your GP if you have had some blood tests recently. If not, we will arrange for the tests to be carried out at Harefield Hospital.

Some patients will also need to have a test for MRSA (meticillin resistant staphylococcus aureus). This is a common organism carried harmlessly by most people. We will let you know during your pre-admission appointment if you need to be tested for MRSA. If testing for MRSA is required, this and the other tests will be carried out 72 hours prior to your admission to ensure we have enough time to get the results before you are admitted to hospital.

This will be discussed with you during your pre-admission appointment.

Assessment prior to admission is part of your admission to hospital. Even if you have had this procedure before, certain aspects may have changed, and it is important that you are as well informed as possible before you come to the hospital.

A pre-admission assessment can help us identify any issues or concerns which may need to be addressed before you have your procedure. Any issues, for example an abnormal blood test result, that are identified can then be looked into before your procedure goes ahead. It is therefore important that all necessary tests are carried out and we have the results before you have your procedure. If we do not receive the results in time, your procedure may be delayed.

On the day of your procedure, one of the clinical nurse specialists will check that nothing has changed since your pre-admission appointment. They will examine your heart and lungs and make sure you are fit to undergo the procedure. You may have a small plastic tube (cannula) placed in a vein in your arm/hand to enable us to give you medication. You will also be asked to sign the consent form for the procedure if this has not been done during your pre-admission appointment. You will have plenty of time to ask any further questions you may have about the procedure.

Arranging transport

If you do not have someone to bring you to the hospital, we may be able to organise hospital transport for you if you are eligible for patient transport services. If you have not had hospital transport arranged by Harefield Hospital in the past six months, you will need to ask your GP to arrange this for you. Patients going home after their procedure should have a responsible adult with them for 24 hours. The majority of our patients are able to go home the same day.

You will not be able to drive yourself home after your procedure, so please ensure someone can collect you from the hospital after you have been discharged. Post-operative advice on when you can resume driving will be discussed at your pre-admission appointment. This is a legal requirement and DVLA rules.

Information about this can be in this information leaflet

Following your procedure, you will be seen by a member of the clinical team who will go over with you what you have had done and answer any questions you may have. Your medication will be reviewed, and you will be informed of any changes to your medication. The majority of our patients are able to go home the evening of their procedure. You will not be able to drive for a period of time after your procedure so you will need to arrange for someone to collect you.

If you need to be reviewed in the outpatient clinic or have any further tests or procedures carried out, we will let you know before you go home.

If you have any questions about your appointment, please call the pre-admission clinic coordinators on 01895 828827.

Please click here for procedure videos and e-consent forms.