The specialism of cardiology has been included in an Outpatient Transformation Programme set up by north-west London health commissioners (NWL CCGs).

It’s been designed with a view to giving service users the right specialist advice at the right place and at the right time. The programme will be delivered over the next three years.

The aim is to make considerable improvements in service and the quality of care offered to patients, while making the best use of NHS resources.

To achieve these ambitious goals, Brent CCG will work together with the other seven NWL CCGs, provider trusts, primary care and service users to transform the way we understand, diagnose and manage care within available budgets.

This programme will encompass a review of whole-system pathways (from primary care to specialist care) and take account of the changing expectations of general practice and other community-based professionals.

Core to the programme will be the development of care pathways encouraging service users to be actively engaged in their own care – from decisions about lifestyle to decisions about their clinical care.

Service users will be helped to self-manage conditions, where this is clinically appropriate. The programme will also deliver measures to manage expectations of services – and rising demand.

NWL is running a series of workshops about cardiology, the last of which will take place on March 27. Initiatives identified during the workshops will be developed with the aim of implementation from August.