Plymouth, South Hams and West Devon Cardiac Rehab
Date issued: August 2019
For review: August 2021
Ref: A-426/Cardiology/SB/Plymouth, South Hams and West Devon Cardiac rehab
PDF: Plymouth, South Hams and West Devon cardiac rehab [pdf] 270KB
The First Few Days
Now that you have been discharged from Derriford Hospital, your ward will refer you to the Plymouth Cardiac Rehabilitation team. They may have completed the form with you as they talked through first phase of Cardiac Rehabilitation.
Once the Community Cardiac Rehabilitation Team have received your referral, (which is usually one or two days after your discharge), if you meet referral criteria, they will contact you by telephone. During this telephone call the nurse can answer any questions you may have had since leaving the hospital and give you advice if you so wish.
If you do not answer then they will leave a telephone phone message.
You will then receive a letter with an invitation to attend an appointment with one of their Specialist Cardiac Nurses at a clinic, or in certain situations, the Nurses will undertake a home visit.
If you do not feel ready for this appointment you will be given the opportunity to call the department within a few weeks, once you feel ready to start with your rehabilitation.
Clinics are held in various community locations:
- Tavistock Clinic.
- South Hams Hospital, Plymouth Highlands Health Centre, Ivybridge.
- Ernesettle Medical Centre.
- Cumberland Centre, Devonport, Thornberry Centre (Near Derriford Hospital).
- Plymstock clinic.
Your Initial Appointment
Your assessment appointment with the Cardiac nurse will consist of the following:
- Review of medical history.
- Review of past and any current symptoms.
- Lifestyle advice.
- Physical Activity/ Exercise advice.
At this appointment the Cardiac Nurse will help you decide whether you wish to enroll in the community-based structured exercise programme. This consists of six weeks exercise and relevant education sessions.
Alternatively, independent exercise may be more suitable in which case appropriate advice will be provided. This decision will also be influenced by your current health status in addition to whether you have any pending investigations or treatment.
The waiting time for the exercise classes vary and your nurse can guide you on this when you meet.
Exercise Classes
Your exercise classes will be held as group sessions in either Modbury, Princetown, or Plymouth. You may choose which of these classes you attend based on ease of attendance and availability.
You may choose from:
- Queen Elizabeth II Sports and Recreation Ground, Modbury.
- Plymouth YMCA Centre, Honicknowle.
- Brickfields Sports Centre, Devonport.
- Princetown Community Centre.
This is a six week rolling programme, offering Individualised exercise and education sessions, within a group environment. Education topics relate to lifestyle modifications and preventing future cardiac events, including dietary advice, cardiac medications, the role of physical activity and exercise, as well as managing stress.
These classes are rolling ones, enabling you to begin at any time, and work with other patients at all different levels of their Cardiac Rehabilitation.
Phase Four
Once you have completed your exercise and education programme then you will be offered Phase 4 of your Cardiac Rehabilitation. You will be given a home programme to help you continue exercising independently in addition to an activity booklet.
For a small charge you can attend further exercise classes, led by a suitably qualified Exercise Instructor.
Once you have discussed the available options and developed a discharge plan with the Rehabilitation Nurse, the team will send a discharge letter to your GP outlining any ongoing health concerns and future exercise/activity plans.
This will then ensure that your GP is up to date in the event of any future concerns or queries.
Contact
If you need any further advice then you can contact the following numbers:
Cardiac Rehabilitation Team: 01752 434521
Smoking Quitline: 0800 00 22 00
Drinkline: 0300 123 1110
AlcoholicsAnonymous: 0800 9177 650
DAS (Depression and anxiety service): 01626 203500
Plymouth Options: plymouthoptions@nhs.net and 01752 435419
Heartswell: 01752 315929 and info@heartswell.org.uk
Your local GP surgery
