Heart Failure Service

Download and print as a PDF (146kB pdf)

How to find us

The outpatient department is situated on the south side of Eastern Road, opposite the main hospital building.

Getting to the Royal Sussex County Hospital

By bus

Bus services 1, 1A, 7, 14B, 14C, 23, 37, 37B, 47, 52, 57, 271 and 272 all stop at the hospital. Timetable details are available from the Brighton and Hove Bus Company on 01273 886200.

By train

Brighton has a mainline railway station. For timetable details, please call 03457 48 49 50. The number 7 bus links the railway station and the hospital.

By car

Parking at the RSCH can be problematic – please allow time for this. There is limited disabled parking in front of the main Outpatients Department and on Level 6 of the multi-storey car park. Please be aware that car parks are ‘pay on foot’ and parking charges apply to all users, including the disabled spaces. There is also some limited street parking which is largely Pay by Phone.

Telephone support

We know that you might be worried if you have recently been discharged from hospital or if you have recently been diagnosed as having heart failure. We are able to offer you support via the telephone, and if you are concerned about your symptoms or have any questions, please phone us on the number on the front of this leaflet.

Whilst we may not always be able to take your call immediately, you can leave a message on our answerphone and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

The service

UHSussex NHS Foundation Trust is able to offer you a comprehensive heart failure service made up of a number of health care professionals. It is our aim to ensure that you receive prompt, timely and appropriate access to the service. Working together, we aim to provide individual care to support you whilst living with heart failure.

The team

The team consists of doctors, nurses, cardiac physiologists, dieticians, and pharmacists. Most of your contact will be with one of the Heart Failure Nurse Specialists, who are senior nurses with many years of experience in caring for patients with cardiac conditions. One of their roles within the heart failure service is to offer you an appointment at the nurse-led clinic where they can assess your symptoms, review your medications and help support you in living with heart failure.

Your appointment

Your appointment with the Heart Failure Nurse should last about 30 minutes, however you may be in the department for longer if you are required to have any additional tests.

Before the appointment

You will usually be required to have a blood test taken a few days before your clinic appointment. If this is required, a blood form will have been enclosed with this leaflet. Depending on the result, you might be required to have another one taken on the day.

On arrival

When you see the Heart Failure Nurse, they will have a general chat with you about how you are feeling, the tablets you are taking, and any problems that you may be experiencing. They will undertake a short examination of your breathing, blood pressure and heart rate. They will also need to look at your ankles. Following this, they will talk you through a few simple steps that you can undertake yourself to compliment your medicines and other treatments that you may be prescribed.

What you need to bring with you

Please bring the following with you to the clinic appointment:

• All the tablets that you are taking
• Any record cards/books
• Any health information booklets you may have been given
• Any questions that you may have (please use the space opposite to write down questions as you think of them)

You are welcome to bring a family member or friend with you to the appointment.

If you are unable to keep your appointment

If you are unable to keep your appointment, please contact a member of the heart failure team at the earliest opportunity. You can do this by phoning 01273 696955 Ext. 67952.

If there is no answer, please leave a message on the answerphone which we will pick up as soon as we are back in the office.