Four local cardiologists say they hope their decision to relocate their practices to Health Sciences North's Sudbury Outpatient Centre reduces patient wait times.
“This is not privatizing medicine,” said Dr. Dino Shukla, one of the four cardiologists at the new clinic, which has been named the Cardiac Out-Patient Centre.
“This is just a partnership between cardiologists who work in a private practice now working in the public system, but still maintaining the autonomy of the private practice.”
The centre houses a number of services, including echocardiography, holter monitoring, stress testing, a rapid access cardiology clinic, congestive heart failure care, a transcatheter aortic valve implantation pre- and post-assessment clinic, and Ontario Telemedicine Network capabilities. It also has a space for medical learners.
Shukla said patients in Sudbury can often wait between three months to a year for some of the services they offer at the centre.
By combining their efforts at a central location, he said he and his colleagues can better triage patients who need more urgent care, and put a dent in those wait times.
To help make the centre a one-stop shop for many patients, it also includes a multi-disciplinary team of nurse practitioners, registered nurses, registered practical nurses, cardiac sonographers, and clerical and support staff.
Shukla and his colleagues also have easy access to three of Greater Sudbury's four cardiac surgeons, which makes it easier to consult on care plans for patients who require surgery.
Sadia Della Vedova said her 83-year-old mother has already benefited from the centre.
Instead of travelling to different locations around the city, she can receive all her cardiology tests in one location.
“This new set-up is much better for my mother’s ongoing care,” Della Vedova said. “She doesn’t need to be in hospital, but she does need help managing her heart condition, so it’s great that her cardiologist and the clinics she uses are in the same place.”
