My name is Kayleigh Mather and I have been a Cardiac Physiologist for 13 years. I was one of the very lucky Physiologists who was paid whilst studying at University by working three days of the week in a Healthcare placement.
I have been in my current role of Chief Cardiac Physiologist at Northumbria Healthcare since September 2019. Before this I worked at Freeman Hospital for seven years and prior to that called other areas of the North East home whilst training.
Although a relatively short career so far when compared to many, I still have had the opportunity to witness and taken part in many areas of cardiac science and found my niche in Implantable devices. My university tutor (Dr. D. Richley) would be very proud to hear he instilled a love of challenging ECGs and ultimately intracardiac EGMs.
After my University Degree I undertook further study into Professional Practice and Patient Communications and gained an MSc in 2016. This study gave me such an insight into leading by example and the importance of pride in the work we do.
I am often asked by patients or others what our job actually entails. As capillaries of cardiac services I know how important we are to maintain excellent cardiac care for any individual who ever needs us and I am very proud to explain our many roles in a patient’s cardiology journey.
This past year has been a challenge for all of us and we have all been affected in many different ways. As a team in Northumbria I have never once felt we have been defeated. We have persevered, continued to provide elective services and even expanded services to meet ever increasing demand.
One area we have particularly excelled in as a Cardiac Rhythm Managment Team is our Remote Monitoring provision. In January 2020 we had almost 50% of our total device patients utilising home monitoring technology. As it currently stands we have approximately 85-90% of our full device cohort using remote technology. We are also providing solely-remote clinics using video technology. It would be rude not to mention the phenomenal input of our admin staff to pull this all together.
I am very proud of the team I work for and we will continue to support each other and provide our patients with such an amazing service whatever the status of the global situation.
I know how hard you and your team have worked over the past year, juggling work and family life, caring for your patients and staying positive throughout. Without caring and committed people like you we would be a very different world. Thank you for your service to the community.