PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Jill Byrne
AU  - Damian McCall
TI  - One year's activity and outcome data from an ambulatory cardiology unit
AID  - 10.7861/clinmedicine.18-2-128
DP  - 2018 Apr 01
TA  - Clinical Medicine
PG  - 128--131
VI  - 18
IP  - 2
4099  - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/18/2/128.short
4100  - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/18/2/128.full
SO  - Clin Med2018 Apr 01; 18
AB  - In 2015, the Belfast Trust piloted an ambulatory cardiology unit (ACU). The ethos of the ACU was to reduce pressure on the Emergency Department by providing a unit where rapid evaluation, treatment and follow-up could be provided by the cardiology team and, at the same time, reduce inpatient admissions to cardiology beds. The service proved effective in reducing admissions to cardiology beds by 13.5% over a 1-year period, while patient outcomes at 30 days and 6 months demonstrated that the service is safe, with only 1.7% of patients readmitted at 30 days and 6 months with the same or a related complaint. The principles of ACU could be adopted by many other specialities.