The role of a new arrhythmia specialist nurse in providing support to patients and caregivers

In 2005, the English Department of Health developed a National Service Framework for the identification and treatment of Arrhythmia. A new specialist role was recommended, the Arrhythmia Care Co-ordinator (ACC), to guide patients through their illness and coordinate their care. In 2006, to implement this policy, the British Heart Foundation (BHF) sponsored 32 new nursing ACC staff posts across England and Wales. The BHF also sponsored an evaluation to investigate the impact of ACC support on patients and caregivers, with 30 patients (18 men, 22 women) and 10 caregivers being drawn from a purposive sample across seven arrhythmia treatment centres. Two main key themes emerged to describe the patients' experience of the new service: personalized coordinated care and learning to live with their condition.