“These last few months have seen marked improvements in the waiting times of delivery of our already excellent cardiology services, ensuring that our services are not only excellent but also timely.”

This was stated by Parliamentary Secretary for Health Chris Fearne during his address at the 2014 Malta Cardiac Society Conference where he highlighted the progress achieved in the field of cardiac care and services.

Speaking about the cardiac care improvements noted in Gozo, Mr Fearne stated that the Gozitan patients are having their echocardiograms performed at Gozo General Hospital and their waiting time is now practically zero.

He said that the waiting time for exercise stress tests, a screening tool aimed at testing the effect of exercise on hearts, from four months have also been diminished to zero waiting time.

Mr Fearne remarked that in Malta the field of x-rays on coronary arteries known as Coronary Angiograms, from six months the waiting time has been slashed down to practically zero, with patients being seen in less than a week.

He said that progress was also achieved in Echocardiograms. In-patient echocardiograms are now being done within 24 hours, while the waiting time for outpatient echocardiograms has gone down from 2 years 9 months to 1 year.

The Parliamentary Secretary for Health stated that the number of performed echocardiograms per month have been boosted from 400 to more than 900 per month. Similarly, continuous improvement has been attained in Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) procedures, where this last year, 17 patients already had an artificial heart valve inserted into to replace the diseased aortic valve.

In the last month, the Cardiology Department has also strengthened their cardiac services by introducing Pacemaker Antibiotic Envelopes for patients undergoing placement of Triple Chamber Pacemakers in a bid to decrease infections.

Mr Fearne praised the hard work and determination undertaken by the cardiology department, and thanked them for these positive achievements.

Mr Fearne concluded that, “We must now continue to strengthen our efforts and empower family doctors to actively participate in their patients’ cardiological care. Likewise we require a nationwide front including educators, catering establishments, industry and the media in encouraging the general population to lead a healthier and more heart-friendly life.”

Photograph: DOI/Pierre Sammut

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