Philips and the Gibraltar Health Authority will enhance cardiac care at St. Bernard's Hospital. (Photo courtesy of Philips)
Philips will set to work later this year on a new interventional cardiac suite at St. Bernard’s Hospital in Gibraltar. As part of a long-term strategic partnership with the Gibraltar Health Authority, Philips will provide ongoing maintenance over 16 years for the equipment.
St. Bernard’s is the only civilian general hospital in the British territory, providing primary, secondary and mental healthcare. Because it uses a healthcare model closely linked to the NHS, the 210-bed facility refers some tertiary care needs to the British healthcare system, along with Spanish hospitals due to its proximity to the country.
"The most significant advancement is that the hospital will be able to offer cardiac surgery: this being a service not currently available for patients at St. Bernard’s and will be made possible by the new cardiac suite," Mark Leftwich, managing director of Philips UK and Ireland, told HCB News.
The cath lab will be built and installed over approximately nine to 12 months, bringing the hospital up to full operating capacity. In it, physicians will perform procedures ranging from coronary angioplasty to catheterization to minimally invasive replacement of heart valves.
The Gibraltar Health Authority expects it to reduce lengths of stays for patients and demand for more hospital beds and ambulance transport services. It also is expected to improve 30-day mortality rates.
“The impact that this new diagnostic equipment will have on our operation, and on the quality of care we will be able to provide for our community is huge. Gibraltar Health Authority continues to strive to provide the best healthcare to the people of Gibraltar,” said professor Patrick Geoghegan OBE, director of General Gibraltar Health Authority.
Philips will replace equipment in two X-ray rooms and a fluoroscopy room for real-time moving X-ray imagery and ultrasound systems. A new CT system will reduce downtime and diagnostic delays and allow the cardiology and radiology departments to expand their services. Philips will also provide informatics systems to speed up scanning time as well.
The specific equipment Philips will install include its Incisive CT scanner, DigitalDiagnost X-ray solutions, Azurion image-guided therapy platform, Zenition mobile C-arm for cardiac, and various different ultrasound solutions, including its CX50 and Affinity systems.
