Patients with pacemakers and implantable cardiac loop recorders can now be seen via a drive-through cardiac clinic at Worcestershire Royal Hospital.

Visitors are able to park under the sheltered, purpose-built pod and then have one of the cardiac physiologists download information from their pacemaker through their car window.

When patients arrive at the drive-through clinic they are greeted by a member of staff and a wireless header is handed to the patient through the car window to hold up against their chest over their implanted device.

The information is downloaded from the device onto an iPad or pacemaker programmer, which then sends the information on to the trust's pacing database to be reviewed, which is usually done on the computer in the pod office.

While the information is downloading, specialised cardiac physiologists are able to have a consultation with the patient.

The patient is then asked to wait for a few minutes while the information is reviewed, and then the results are given to the patient.

The whole process takes roughly five to ten minutes from start to finish for the patient.

83 year old patient, John Adlington visited the drive through clinic for an appointment recently. He said: “The drive through clinic is ideal. It saves times and money.

“You don’t have to worry about parking and importantly with the worry of coronavirus you feel more secure and the check-up is done in no time.”

Cardiac physiologist Becky Macdonald added: “We are delighted that we have been able to successfully introduce the drive-through clinics.

" The drive-through facility enables our team to utilise our department and facilities more efficiently, as we can see more patients in a setting where they feel more comfortable and safe, thus improving patient experience.

“Some patients are still reluctant to come into a hospital clinic due to anxieties around Covid-19, some may struggle with mobility, and some simply find parking difficult and stressful.

“If everything is fine then it gives the patient the peace of mind they need and they won’t need to hear from us until their next appointment.

“We have received some really positive feedback from our patients regarding the overall experience when using the clinic, and as a result we have opened a second pod for ambulatory ECG monitoring.

"This is where a patient wears an ECG monitor for 24-72hr, to check a patient’s heart rhythm and electrical activity.

"We are now able to safely see double the number of patients that we were able to see within the department due to this being a purpose-built clinic.”