Congenital Heart Network

North West, North Wales & Isle of Man ‘All Age’ Congenital Heart Disease Network

Alder Hey is a partner of the North West, North Wales & Isle of Man ‘All Age’ Congenital Heart Disease Network.  The Network is a collaborative group of NHS specialist providers of congenital heart disease services and its stakeholders including patients and their carers, all joining together to share good practice to improve care and outcomes.

The Network aims to:

• Deliver excellent care and treatment for patients with congenital heart disease, along the whole patient pathway, improving outcomes, quality of care and patient and family experience.
• Ensure that nationally set specifications and standards of service are consistently met across the network.
• Develop and ensure the operation of common referral, care and transfer pathways and other policies, protocols, and procedures across the network.
• Ensure that as much care and treatment is provided as close as possible to home and that patients and families travel only when essential, while ensuring timely access for interventional surgical procedures and the best possible outcome for patients.
• Ensure that there is an integrated, coordinated, multidisciplinary approach to the care of patients with congenital heart disease.
• Ensure the safe and effective transition of young people from paediatrics to adult services.
• Identify the need for level 3 services (paediatric and adult) and to support their operation and development.
• Establish and maintain systems for the collection, analysis and reporting of data on outcomes, quality of care and patient and family experience.
• Undertake an audit and other service improvement activities, including reflecting on and responding to suboptimal outcomes, care and patient experience.
• Ensure efficient and appropriate flow of patients along the pathway, managing system capacity and improving system resilience.
• Support effective workforce planning across the network, including training and the professional development of all clinical staff involved in the care of patients with congenital heart disease.

Paediatric Cardiology Services:

Level 1 Care

Alder Hey is the specialist paediatric surgical centre for the Network, undertaking all cardiac surgery and most cardiac interventions for children and young people from the North West, North Wales and Isle of Man.

Level 2 Care

Provided by Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital which is part of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust

Level 3 Care

Available at twenty four peripheral hospitals around the regions, twenty two of which hold regular outreach clinics which run in conjunction with a visiting Consultant Paediatric Cardiologist either from Alder Hey or Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.

Regular foetal cardiology clinics are provided by consultants from Alder Hey and are undertaken in both Manchester St Marys Hospital (part of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust) and Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust.

Adult Cardiology Services:

Level 1 Care

Provided by the North West NHS Trust Liverpool Partnerships; Alder Hey, Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital, Royal Liverpool University Hospitals Trust, Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust

Level 2 Care

Provided by Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (Manchester Heart Centre)

Level 3 Care

Provided at both Blackpool Victoria Hospital and Wrexham Maelor Hospital.

For further information please contact:

CHD Network Manager: Helen.Sanderson@alderhey.nhs.uk

CHD Network Lead Nurse: Linda.Griffiths@alderhey.nhs.uk

www.northwestchdnetwork.nhs.uk/