Heart wards

The Acute Cardiac Unit (ACU) is a 20 bedded Acute Cardiology Unit taking emergency admissions and patients requiring higher nursing and specialist care. ACU is located near West Corridor on the first floor in the Trent Cardiac Centre (TCC), all 20 beds are equipped with cardiac monitoring. We have 6 beds dedicated to the level 2 area and 14 beds dedicated to ACU’s admissions unit. ACU runs the regions PPCI service which provides emergency life-saving care for patients having heart attacks and we also provide an emergency pathway for severely unwell bradycardic patients who may require urgent pacing interventions or close monitoring. Ward round starts from 9am, all patients are seen by the registrar and consultant on a daily basis.

ACU level 2 area admits the higher dependency level 2 patients who are the sickest cardiology patients in the region and require a higher level of care.  There are two side rooms and a mixed sex bay, this is so we can get the higher dependency patients across to ACU more efficiently, a divider is used in the bay to separate genders if required. Outside of the level 2 area, ACU also admits unwell patients requiring intervention but are not requiring higher dependency level 2 care. Patients are admitted from ED, the GP, home and from other wards and clinics in and out of NUH. We take patients with various cardiac conditions including heart failure, cardiomyopathies, arrhythmias, acute coronary syndromes and valve abnormalities to name a few. Procedures that are carried out on ACU include devices such as permanent pacemakers (PPMS) and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDS), angiograms and angioplasties, ablations and trans-aortic valve replacements (TAVIS). Patients on ACU may also be awaiting cardiac surgery.

When patients on ACU become stable and do not require a higher level of care, they will be transferred to other cardiology wards at City such as Morris, Papplewick, or Patience 1 once they are considered stable or no longer need continuous cardiac monitoring, the consultant and registrar will make this decision. This is so we can ensure that a bed is available for patients requiring emergency interventions or who are acutely unwell and need closer monitoring. Therefore patients on ACU usually stay here for a couple of days before being stepped down to another ward. Occasionally, patients who require urgent/emergency cardiac surgery or the highest level of care and support (level 3) will be transferred to CCD or CICU.

Visiting Hours
Visiting hours are from 1pm-8pm, you do not need to book an appointment. There can only be 2 visitors on the ward per patient but you are able to swap in and out. We are flexible with those who are critically unwell/palliative, so please ring up and speak to the nurse in charge on shift if you require flexible visiting in this situation. Our visiting hours start a little later compared to the rest of the trust as ward round takes place from 9am and involves the multi-disciplinary team assessing each patient.

Phone Extension
0115 969 1169 ext. 73117, 76213, 73284. You can use ext. 76613 for the portable phone to speak to a patient directly if they do not have use of a mobile phone.

Parking
The unit is in the very centre of the hospital, please park where possible in any of the allocated visitor car parks. Do not park outside of the TCC as ambulances needs to be able gain easy access to the entrance. There is no car park outside of the TCC so you will be ticketed if you park here. Please ring the ward if you need to park nearby to collect a patient or are unsure about parking, we are happy to assist.

Morris ward is a 24-bedded ward located on the First Floor of the Trent Cardiac Centre. 

Patients are a mixture of medical cardiology and interventional cardiology.

Procedures carried out include: permanent pacemakers (PPM), automated implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (AICDs), angiograms and percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs)/coronary angioplastys.

The ward is fitted with Patient Line and for a small cost the patient can have their own personal telephone.

Tel: 0115 9691169 Ext: 53136 or 53135 or 53116

Visiting times: Seven days a week from 2.30pm to 8pm

Meals: Breakfast at 8.30am; lunch at 12pm; evening meal at 5pm. Menus are available on the ward. Tea and coffee are served at regular intervals throughout the day.

Parking: Please use the Yellow Car Park when visiting Morris Ward. Relatives can be dropped off/collected outside the Trent Cardiac Centre ambulance entrance but parking is not permitted. Forms for concessionary car parking tickets can be obtained from ward staff. Completed forms should be taken to the car parking office at Trust Headquarters.

Personal items: As well as your usual toiletries it would be helpful if patients could bring a supply of loose fitting nightwear and well-fitting slippers/shoes. Daytime clothes may be worn. If at all possible, please send all valuables home with your family or friends, as the hospital cannot accept responsibility for valuable items.

On discharge: Please arrange for a relative or friend to collect you on the morning of discharge. Please note ambulance transport will not be available unless in exceptional circumstances.

Social worker: If you are worried about coping at home after discharge, please inform us as soon as possible. We will liaise with our discharge co-ordinator and carry out the necessary assessments and organise appropriate referrals.

Papplewick is a 32 bedded ward. Caring for a mix of patients who have been admitted with heart attacks, angina, arrhythmias, heart failure, endocarditis and valvular conditions. We admit patients directly from the emergency department (ED), home or other wards within NUH (most commonly- ACU).

Visiting time is 1pm-8pm with only 2 visitors per bedspace.

We have cardiac monitors on the ward which patients may be attached to, this will mean we can monitor someone’s heart rhythm and heart rate.

Patients on Papplewick may go for a number of different tests or scans. Invasive tests may include angiograms or angioplasties, pacemaker insertions, TAVIs. Then we also send patients for MRIs, CTs, ECHOs (ultrasounds of the heart). ECGs are done regularly on the ward.

We have a mixture of staff within Papplewick including a ward manager, deputy sisters, registered nurses and health care assistants. We also have a Discharge coordinator who can aid in supporting patients and families with complex discharges. Patients might need to be assessed by physios or occupational therapists. This can be to help their mobility or provide equipment they may need in their own home. The ward also had a receptionist, ward administrator and housekeeper.

Other teams we work alongside include the medical team. Every patient will be seen by a consultant, then we have a registrar and ward doctors who see patients. There are sometimes medical students too. During day hours they work 8:30am-5pm. Then at night, weekends or bank holidays we have a hospital24 team. We also have a number of different therapies who visit the ward to see patients- dietitians, SALT (speech and language team) and phlebotomists who take blood samples. Cardiac Rehab will also see patients who present with an acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

If you have any questions about the ward then please give us a ring.

Contacting the ward

Contact number is 0115 9691169

Ext 76271, 76272 or the cordless phone is 73316.

Getting to the ward

Papplewick is situated on the 2nd floor, H block. The best entrance to come to is the south entrance and then the lifts are straight in front of you. Closest parking is located in Green Car Park.