Jersey to get two new cardiac nurses

A grant from the British Heart Foundation is paying for two specialist nurses at Jersey's General Hospital.

Cardiac nurses Lee-Anne Penn and Lisa Anderson are already seeing between 20 and 30 patients a week.

The two nurses are part of the dedicated heart team run by the island's consultant cardiologist Dr Andrew Mitchell.

They will be seeing patients soon after heart attacks or anyone diagnosed with heart disease.

The nurses will be getting patients' treatment moving and co-ordinating further treatments in Jersey and the UK.

They will also be helping to develop specialist services for patients with heart failure and heart rhythm abnormalities.

Lee-Anne Penn said: "Part of our role is liaising closely with other people within HSSD, for example, the cardiac physiologists who undertake so many of the heart investigations, the smoking cessation service, and dieticians, all people that are linked in to provide a seamless cardiac service."

The British Heart Foundation has made a grant of £250,000 and said specialist nurses have a very important role to play in the lives of people who have coronary heart disease.

Shai Davies, head of nursing services at the British Heart Foundation, said: ''We're convinced our specialist nurses will have a positive impact on patients living with coronary heart disease in Jersey.

"We fund the professional development of our nurses to make sure they can continue to deliver expert cardiac care."