Book into a hotel for heart checks (From Barry And District News)

Book into a hotel for heart checks

VALE OF Glamorgan patients needing vital heart checks can book themselves into a hotel for an appointment with a specialist.

While the new clinic will not affect current NHS waiting lists, the cardiologists on hand in the Vale Hotel, Golf and Spa Resort will be taking the pressure off local GPs struggling under an ever-increasing workload.

The Vale Cardiology Clinic's aims are to provide screening to assess people at risk from cardiovascular disease - without the need for a referral from a doctor.

Tests can indicate the risk of heart attack or stroke within 10 years, which is also important to patients who have never suffered symptoms but have one risk factor such as smoking, a family history of heart disease or diabetes.

Screening will include cholesterol, blood glucose and blood pressure measurements, with details of the family history taken by a nurse trained in cardiovascular risk assessment.

But there are concerns that care is being taken away from usual avenues. This clinic comes hot on the heels of news that seven new centres are to be opened in railway and Tube stations by next Spring, costing 25m.

And with the number of high street walk-in clinics around the country rising to 57, there are worries of a rising trend.

A Vale of Glamorgan Health Trust spokeswoman said: "As this is not an NHS service we can not comment on the clinic.

"If an outpatient is referred for an appointment on the NHS in the Vale of Glamorgan we are meeting the target waiting time set by the Welsh Assembly. We are giving patients appointments in 18 months and in many cases less time."

GPs can refer patients to the clinic for a variety of health tests.