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GP referral

ELFT Community Heart Failure Service

The community heart failure service provides care and support for patients with a diagnosis of chronic heart failure. We provide holistic care with the aim to enable people to live longer, with better quality of life and reduce unnecessary and potentially distressing hospital admissions.

The majority of our work is in collaboration with the patient. It includes health education/advice and support to enhance their self -management of own health needs.

We also initiate and titrate cardio-protective medicines and diuretics as per NICE, ESC and local guidelines.

We are a team of Heart Failure Specialist Nurses (3.4 full time equivalent). We cover the whole of Bedfordshire (except Luton).

You can refer to us via SPOA on 0345 602 4064 or singlepointofcontact@nhs.net

Address

This is a county-wide service
Contact should be via Tel: 0345 6024064​
LU6 3JA
United Kingdom

Email address
epct.spa@nhs.net
Telephone number
0345 6024064​

To be accepted onto the caseload, the patient must have a confirmed syndrome of heart failure as defined by NICE and confirmed by Echocardiogram within last 18 months.

Referrals are accepted from one of the following:

  • GP
  • Healthcare professional (hospital)
  • Community matron
  • Community nurse
  • Practice nurse (GP)

Self-referrals to this service can only be accepted if the patient has been seen previously.

The service should be contacted via the Single Point of Access (SPoA ): 0345 6024064​

  • Definitive Diagnosis of HFrEF or HFpEF diagnosed on Echo within last 18 months
  • Patients following a hospital discharge with heart failure
  • Patient in need of optimisation of evidence based heart failure medications
  • Patients in need of support with self-management of condition
  • Worsening heart failure symptoms requiring specialist heart failure nurse support
  • Patients who are under the age of 18 years of age
  • Patients without a Bedfordshire GP
  • Patients who are unwilling to be seen by a specialist nurse
  • Patients who are none concordant following self-management advice and/or taking prescribed evidence based cardio-protective medications
  • Patients immediately post MI without having had a 3-6-month recovery echocardiogram
  • Certain medical conditions that present as heart failure: – Cardiac Amyloidosis/Sarcoidosis, Severe Valve disease, COPD with pulmonary hypertension, Primary Pulmonary hypertension. (Nurses can offer guidance on how to manage oedema but will not take patient on caseload)
  • HFpEF patients who are not also under the care of a consultant cardiologist (Nurses can offer guidance on how to manage oedema but will not take patient on caseload)
  • Palliative patients in end stage of life