Table 1

Health Care Clinicians Who Took Part in the Interviews

Staff Based in Primary CareStaff Based in Specialty CareStaff Based in Community Care
Location 1 (South West)
Two separate hospitals provide outpatient heart failure clinics; community specialist heart failure nurses see patients with heart failure of any type, but their capacity is limited.
General practitioner (P1)Cardiologist (P8)Specialist heart failure nurse (P20)
General practitioner (P2)Geriatrician (P9)
General practitioner (P3)Hospital liaison psychiatrist (P10)Community matron (P21)
General practitioner (interviewed twice) (P4)
Location 2 (South Central)
One hospital provides outpatient clinics with community specialist heart failure nurses seeing patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) only.
General practitioner (P5)Cardiologist (P11)Specialist heart failure nurses (interviewed together) (P22 and 23)
General practitioner (P6)Specialist heart failure nurses (interviewed together) (P12 and 13)
Heart failure specialist nurse (P14)
Cardiac Rehabilitation managera (P15)
Location 3 (Midlands)
One hospital-based rapid access ambulatory heart failure clinic with ongoing care in the community from specialist heart failure nurses seeing patients with heart failure of any type.
General practitioner (P7)Cardiologist (P16)
Specialist heart failure nurses) (interviewed together) (P17 and 18)
Cardiac rehabilitation practitioner (P19)
Specialist heart failure nurse (P24)
  • P = participant.

  • a Cardiac rehabilitation is a structured set of services that can be offered to people with heart failure to provide physical and psychological help to preserve or resume their optimal functioning.