The treatment of cardiac conditions often starts with diagnosis
before birth - and some of the children we see will continue to
need regular care into adulthood. We have worked hard to ensure
that we make the most of the excellent cardiac network that exists
at University Hospitals Bristol, so that care here lasts a
lifetime.
Our consultant paediatric cardiologists provide foetal diagnosis
in Bristol and across the South West. They travel to clinics
throughout the region and use a high-definition telemedicine system
to consult referring doctors in their local hospitals. We also work
with the congenital cardiologists in Cardiff, who refer any cases
requiring surgery or intervention to Bristol.
Mothers whose unborn babies have been diagnosed with urgent
needs are referred to St Michael's Hospital, next door to the
children's hospital in Bristol, where our cardiologists provide a
foetal cardiology service.
If a child needs to come into the unit for treatment or an
operation, he or she will receive 24 hour care in our Paediatric
Cardiac Ward or Paediatric Intensive Care Unit. If intensive care
is needed, our specialist round-the-clock retrieval service will
travel anywhere in the South West or South Wales to collect a
child.
The interventions offered by our cardiology and surgical teams
are comprehensive. Our successful introduction of hypoplastic
surgery last year - one of the most complex procedures in
paediatric cardiac surgery - and our trans-catheter valves
implantation programme show our determination to keep raising
standards. These interventions, like much of our work, are
constantly informed by our close links with Trust colleagues in
institutions like the Bristol Heart Institute.
Care continues beyond our wards, through our outreach services
and clinics. As some patients return for further treatment later in
life, we also help with transition from being a patient at a
children's hospital to living with heart disease as an adult. A
complex network of specialists support every patient on their
pathway to better heart health.
We know that families with a child receiving treatment for a
heart condition can go through terrible emotional and psychological
strain. They face practical difficulties too - the costs and
organisational difficulties of travel, accommodation, and time. We
aim to alleviate both as far as we can - through counselling,
advice, and practical support. Our cardiac liaison nurses meet
families at the earliest stage of diagnosis and are available
throughout treatment, as the 'patient's advocate'.
