Objectives: To review the use of a nurse-led cardiac helpline since its inception, and to assess the current satisfaction of recent callers to the helpline. Design and setting: The study took place in a cardiac unit that provides a service to an inner-city London population, but is also a tertiary centre providing highly specialized services to a wider population. Call records to the cardiac helpline between 1996 and 2004 (n=8429) were analysed. Additionally, a postal satisfaction survey was sent to the last 100 callers to the helpline in 2005 (response rate=79%). Results: At its peak the cardiac helpline was called on average more than four times a day, but was still called at least once a day in 2004. Over half (54%) of calls were about a physical complaint and 15% concerned medication. In more than one-quarter (29%) of cases the caller was advised to contact his/her GP and 8% were directed to attend accident and emergency (A&E). Surveyed callers to the cardiac helpline were highly satisfied with the service and 39% of respondents said that without the helpline they would have visited their GP while 29% would have attended A&E. Conclusions: This hospital-based, nurse-led cardiac helpline achieved a high degree of satisfaction with callers and offers patients an instant access alternative to consulting with their GP or attending their local A&E department.
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McEwen et al. (2009) studied this question.