Did you know? 

• Royal Hospital and Heart Centre is the only hospital in the Northern Cape with a cardiac unit and offers radiotherapy. 

• Bokamoso Private Hospital is the only hospital in Botswana to offer cardiac services, vascular surgery and nuclear medicine. 

• Ethekwini Hospital and Heart Centre’s cardiac centre of excellence, is the only unit in KwaZulu-Natal to offer paediatric cardiac surgery.

There are numerous initiatives underway in the Cardiology Department at Lenmed, of special mention are the following: 

Lenmed Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) Programme

The AMI programme was introduced to Lenmed by the clinical governance team in 2018. The overriding objective of the AMI programme is to reduce preventable mortality and morbidity.

Of importance is that treatment is time-sensitive and that extended duration of ischemia from symptom onset to definitive treatment is associated with longer hospitalization and worsened patient outcomes because of an increase in myocardial infarction size. Death rate and other complications from an AMI, e.g. severe heart failure, can be reduced by timeous implementation of internationally recognised standards of best clinical practice.

Although a decline has been observed in mortality rate associated with ischemic heart, this remains the single most common cause of death worldwide. This calls for pre-emptive actions from private healthcare organizations to ensure preparedness for an increase in STEMI (ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction) numbers in the South African context. Implementation of evidence-informed guidelines for STEMI management, as well as measurement of well-defined and validated quality indicators to audit practice and improve patient outcomes has become imperative.

The Lenmed AMI guidelines for patient management have been aligned with the European Society of Cardiology guidelines for STEMI and Non-STEMI patients. 

Advantages of the Lenmed AMI programme

• Improved outcomes – earlier hospital discharge and lower mortality and morbidity 
• Future prevention through awareness and education on lifestyle changes (including smoking cessation, regular physical activity and a healthy diet)
• Improved clinical practice and patient outcomes
• Reduced AMI mortality and morbidity
• Alignment with national and international best practice
• Recorded metrics and data. 
• Shared learning within a multidisciplinary team at Committees/Forums/ Continuous improvement opportunities
• Creation of Cardiac Centers of Excellence
• Team work extending to paramedics and emergency services 

Lenmed has implemented the AMI programme at Ethekwini Hospital and Heart Centre in Durban as well as Bokamoso Private Hospital in Botswana. Soon to follow will be Ahmed Kathrada Private Hospital in Lenasia and Royal Hospital and Heart Centre in Kimberley. 

Emergency Cardiac and Stroke Response Vehicle – KwaZulu-Natal

Ethekwini Hospital and Heart Centre introduced a dedicated rapid response vehicle that focuses on cardiac and stroke networks and minimizing delays to definitive care in the pre-hospital environment. The vehicle is staffed by a cardiac-trained advanced life support paramedic and equipped with state-of-the-art life-saving equipment as well as thrombolytic drugs enabling more effective management of the STEMI patient.

The emergency efforts in the province have been further enhanced by the recent launch of our very own aeromedical helicopter, Lenmed1. By partnering with Black Eagle Aviation, IPSS Medical Rescue and Rescue Care we are now able to reach our patients much quicker drastically improving patient outcomes.