The benefits from optimising the TAVI procedure has been in the post-procedure phase. Reducing patients’ length of stay has made the patients’ recovery easier and, amidst the pandemic, TAVI efficiencies are less resource intensive. We perform 3-4 procedures a day, compared with 1-2 surgical procedures a day. These benefits are important post-COVID19 recovery and enable us to reduce waiting lists and the backlog of care.

Patients are interested in TAVI, since it’s perceived as less scary than an invasive cardiac surgical procedure with quicker recovery, However, it is not as simple as TAVI vs SAVR and our multidisciplinary team make that decision. We have three clinical nurse specialists who coordinate TAVI alongside admin staff, cardiologists, and recently, the addition of a geriatrician; the geriatrician offers a holistic view of the patient. 

We hold improvement plan meetings where we utilise our learnings from the Edwards Benchmark Programme: for us, our focus is very much on reducing the strain on high dependency care beds, optimising patient discharge direct to the ward in a safe and timely way.