Trio of NHS contract wins for independent clinic sees waiting times slashed

A trio of NHS contract wins for a Warrington based cardiology clinic has helped to slash Hospital waiting times across the North West, at no increased cost to the NHS. Venturi Cardiology, an independent cardiology diagnostic clinic, has ensured over 3,000 patients waiting for vital heart diagnostic services in the Region have been seen, up to and beyond, 20 weeks earlier.

Their work with some NHS trusts has seen waiting lists plummeting by 50% and, in some cases, the waiting list for echocardiograms and CT scans of the heart, have been completely cleared and patients can now have the tests they need straight away.

Over the last 18 months, Venturi Cardiology has won contracts with 3 NHS trusts and a fourth with a GP federation, which is due to expand from 3 days per week to full time in the near future. The contracts include:- Mid-Cheshire Hospitals (MCHT), St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals (STHK), and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT).

The Venturi team will imminently expand the service they provide to Southport and Formby Health (a GP Federation) from 1 to 2 days per week of cardiology consultancy and double the echocardiography provision. This service has been very well received, delivering a 97% patient satisfaction rating at no increased cost.

Venturi also partnered with St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals on a pioneering heart failure programme, seeing some of the most vulnerable cardiac patients quickly and giving them much-needed answers, often on the same day.

Another contract with a large trust in the Region will see Venturi deliver 1,000 CT coronary angiograms for the Hospital. In many cases, these patients, with active chest pains, have been waiting for over 9 months, for this important test.

Venturi Cardiology, which launched in 2021, offers the latest cardiac diagnostic technology and access to contemporary cardiovascular care. Co-founders Dr Scott Murray, Dr Jonathan Hasleton and Dr Tom Heseltine and their team, are on a mission to treat the causes of heart disease and to make world-class heart care accessible, affordable and more personalised.

It is a key reason why the consultants at Venturi, who also work in the NHS, carry out their Venturi work for the NHS at or below current NHS tariffs.

Dr Scott Murray said:- "We are proud to be working with a growing number of health trusts across the North West and helping them to reduce the record high waiting lists, which were made worse by the pandemic. Our streamlined clinical and operational team can list and see patients in a shorter space of time, getting reports back to the relevant Hospitals within days. Over the past 18 months, we have seen over 3,000 NHS patients and many of these people would still be waiting for vital cardiac tests without our support. We are committed to helping the NHS to reset and recover. Crucially, we have saved the NHS time, money and resources and, most importantly, might just save some lives."

Vicky Hilton, Deputy Service Manager, Cardio-Respiratory and Vascular Diagnostics at Mid-Cheshire Hospitals, said:- "The partnership we have developed with Venturi has enabled the continued delivery of patient-centred care, patient safety and good patient outcomes during times of unprecedented pressure."

Helen Mason, Community Cardiology Service Manager, Southport and Formby Health said:- "The partnership with Venturi Cardiology has been fantastic. Patients are happy that they can arrange to see us in a relaxed setting at The Family Surgery and that our waiting time is short. We have plans to expand the service soon, enabling better patient care for our community."

Venturi Cardiology was officially opened by television actress and Hits Radio DJ Gemma Atkinson and former Bolton Wanderers player, Fabrice Muamba, in June 2021.

In addition to the 3,000-plus NHS patients it has assessed, Venturi has helped over 2,000 self funded and private patients to also get the answers they need quickly and easily.

This month, the clinic is launching a range of self pay, symptom led packages which bundle together specific diagnostic tests depending on a patient's concerns, such as palpitations, chest pain or high-blood pressure. Full details of these packages, including prices, can be found on:- VenturiCardiology.Com.  For more information or to book a consultation email:- Hello@VenturiCardiology.Com.
 

Wirral Primary School pupils 1st to benefit from LCR Connect's top of the class full fibre broadband

SCHOOL children attending Church Drive Primary School on the Wirral have had their:- 'learning experience enriched creating a myriad of opportunities' according to their headteacher, Joanna Jones. Church Drive in Bebington is the 1st School in the Liverpool City Region to benefit from a full fibre connection delivered by LCR Connect; a new 212km digital network that is capable of delivering the fastest internet speeds in the country.

Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region said:- "The world around us is changing faster than ever and I want to ensure that we keep up; LCR Connect is helping us to do that. We're putting our communities at the cutting edge of digital connectivity with state of the art infrastructure that will give them access to the fastest internet speeds in the entire country. It's helping to attract new jobs, businesses and investment into the Region and, best of all, LCR Connect is half-owned by the us, which means that we can continue to pump the returns back into the local economy and reap the benefits for years to come. We're already seeing the massive difference it's making to local Schools; but this is just the tip of the iceberg; our infrastructure will eventually link to our universities, to our Hospitals, to our public spaces, and to residential homes across the City Region helping to deliver better public services too. It's a big step towards my ambition of making our Region the most digitally connected place in the country; where no 1 is left behind."

LCR Connect is a joint venture led by Mayor Steve Rotheram, between the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, which owns 50% of the venture, alongside ITS Technology Group, and NGE, who are delivering the full fibre network that is being built across the 6 local Authority areas of the Liverpool City Region.

The network, which is on track to be completed by the middle of this year, is designed to significantly improve connectivity for businesses and will support internet access for Schools, and other organisations, making the City Region among the best-connected areas of the UK.

1 of 7 Schools that form Oak Trees Multi-Academy Trust, Church Drive Primary is achieving 100Mbps speeds through its broadband connection, nearly 3 times faster than the service it has replaced for download and more than 10 times faster for the upload. This ultrafast service is being delivered and managed by local IT service providers Hi-Impact and Exa Networks.

Joanna Jones, headteacher at Church Drive Primary School said:- "As a School, we are very keen to make the best use of technology to enhance and improve the learning opportunities for our children. Access to a fast, reliable internet connection has now become a vital part of the curriculum. This new broadband service has transformed the enjoyment and ease of access to the many online resources and opportunities that enrich the day-to-day learning of our children. It also means that our teaching staff no longer have to implement 'plan B' which was a regular occurrence when our old broadband service couldn't keep up with demand. Added to this, the children can now make effective use of the laptops and tablets that were generously donated to the School during the Covid19 Lockdowns."

Councillor Ian Maher, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Portfolio Holder for Digital Connectivity and Inclusion, said:- "Digital connectivity is an increasingly important factor in education and it is really exciting to see our local Schools signing up to and benefitting from LCR Connect, our own ultrafast full-fibre network. I look forward to seeing many more Schools and colleges signing up and enjoying the benefits of exceptional connectivity, alongside our local businesses."

Claire Delahunty, joint venture partner ITS Technology Group's ambassador for LCR Connect said:- "Connecting Church Drive Primary School to LCR Connect is a significant milestone for this substantial infrastructure project. It is the 1st of many Schools and colleges set to benefit across the Liverpool City Region. Safe access to a high-speed internet connection is supporting these pupils in their education, in learning key digital skills that will set them up for life, and will hopefully be inspiring and nurturing some of the STEM superstars of the future too."

Mark Cowgill, Co-founder and Commercial Director, Exa Networks said:- "Demand for fast, reliable broadband services has increased significantly in recent years, and has been accelerated further by the Covid19 pandemic. LCR Connect is an exciting project which is totally reshaping how IT services can be accessed. The gigabit-capable services it provides are helping Schools and businesses across the City Region to access online services and applications. It is making a change for good."

Alan Thompson, Managing Director of education IT specialist Hi-Impact said:- "We are proud to look after the IT needs of more than 100 Schools across the City Region including Church Drive Primary School. We understand the pressures and challenges of poor connectivity and how it can disrupt and undermine engagement in the classroom. Church Drive Primary School's previous online experience was not fit for purpose because of the lack of access to full fibre infrastructure in the Liverpool City Region – that is why this new network is so exciting for Schools. LCR Connect provides a cost effective broadband connection that can scale with the needs of the School, which is so important when already squeezed budgets are having to stretch further."

LCR Connect is on track to be completed this year. It is designed to underpin economic growth, innovation, inward investment, and job creation. In fact, experts estimate that, with 100% gigabit-capable fibre coverage across the City Region, the economic boost could be worth up to £1bn, creating thousands of local job and training opportunities.

Organisations and businesses across the City Region are invited to register their interest in connecting to the network by visiting the:- Network Build - LCR Connect, website.