Private cardiology in Reading: heart tests, clinics and where they are

Of the private options in Reading, Spire Dunedin gives the most detail. Its heart treatments page lists the tests offered, and these cover most of the first-line cardiology toolkit: a blood pressure test, cholesterol level testing, a blood clot or thrombosis test, an electrocardiogram, an exercise ECG, a stress echocardiogram, cardiac CT, cardiac MRI and 24 or 48 hour ECG monitoring. The wider treatments listing adds transoesophageal echocardiography, contrast echocardiography, Cardiomemo recording and heart rhythm monitoring.

The hospital says that appointments for consultations are available with a cardiology consultant within 24 hours, Monday to Friday, and refers to a service called the Berkshire Heart Clinic. That is a claim made by the hospital, and a patient should ask what 'within 24 hours' means in practice, for example for a first consultation or for results. The page also stresses short waits for appointments and the option to choose the treatment time and hospital, which is the main attraction of paying privately.

Dunedin does not list heart operations on the pages we read. Its emphasis is on diagnosis, monitoring and consultation, which suits a patient who wants to understand a symptom, a family history or an abnormal result. If a test shows that a procedure such as angioplasty or surgery is needed, ask in advance where the consultant would carry it out.

The Berkshire Independent Hospital, part of Ramsay Health Care UK, lists cardiology in its treatments and services, with a dedicated treatment page, and describes X-ray, MRI, CT and ultrasound among its on-site diagnostics. It has three theatres, a seven-bed recovery area, 43 en-suite rooms and a day surgery suite. The page text we retrieved gave no cardiology test list, so ask which tests are carried out on site and which consultant leads the service.

Royal Berkshire Private Healthcare is the private arm of the NHS trust. It treats insured and self-funding patients at the Royal Berkshire Hospital and West Berkshire Community Hospital, and says income is reinvested in local NHS services. Its page does not itemise specialties. The attraction of a private service run from an NHS campus is that it sits close to the trust's cardiology department, which provides inpatient care and round-the-clock primary PCI, although a private patient should ask what arrangements apply in an emergency.

The trust describes a comprehensive range of inpatient and outpatient services. Inpatient care is at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, and outpatient clinics run at Townlands Memorial Hospital, Bracknell Healthspace and West Berkshire Community Hospital. Diagnostics listed include ambulatory monitoring, echocardiography, ECGs, stress testing, coronary angiograms and implantable cardiac monitoring.

Specialist clinics named include arrhythmia, cardiomyopathy, congenital heart disease, pulmonary hypertension, obstetric cardiology and rapid-access chest pain. Procedures include ablation, coronary angioplasty, pacemaker and defibrillator implantation, and cardioversion. The department states it holds University of Reading Department of Excellence status and accreditation from the British Society of Echocardiography.

This depth is a useful reference when comparing options. A private clinic that offers diagnosis and consultation can sit alongside an NHS department that provides emergency angioplasty and specialist clinics, and a patient can move between them if a problem becomes complex. The area's NHS board is NHS Thames Valley ICB. In England the NHS says the maximum wait for non-urgent consultant-led treatment is 18 weeks, and patients may choose the hospital for a first outpatient appointment after a GP referral.

Spire Dunedin is on Bath Road, Reading (RG1 6NS). Its page says the main hospital at 16 Bath Road is about three and a half miles from junction 12 of the M4, via the A4, and that the railway station is a ten-minute taxi ride away. There is free on-site parking, with a drop-off area at 22 Bath Road, and tablet check-in at reception. The cardiac tests named, such as cardiac MRI, rely on scanners, and the page confirms MRI is on site.

The Royal Berkshire Hospital is on London Road, Reading (RG1 5AN). The private service says parking is free there but not at West Berkshire Community Hospital. The Berkshire Independent Hospital's page did not give a street address or transport details, so ask the hospital before travelling.

A typical first consultation involves a description of symptoms, a blood pressure measurement, an ECG and perhaps blood tests for cholesterol. For breathlessness, an echocardiogram shows pumping strength and valve function. For palpitations, the 24 or 48 hour monitors named at Dunedin catch rhythm problems that come and go. For chest pain on exertion, an exercise ECG or stress echocardiogram looks for signs that the heart muscle is short of blood under load, and cardiac CT can examine the arteries directly.

Conditions in this field include angina, atrial fibrillation, heart failure, valve disease, high blood pressure and raised cholesterol. Many are managed with medicines and lifestyle changes alone. Others need a procedure, which is where the question of who performs it, and where, becomes important. A private cardiologist should explain which findings would trigger a procedure and what the alternatives are.

If you already have an NHS diagnosis, take previous scans and ECGs. The aim is to avoid repeating tests unnecessarily and to give the consultant a baseline to compare with.

Details change, so check each point with the provider rather than relying on a web page alone.

• What does a first appointment include, and are tests such as an ECG or echocardiogram done at the same visit?

• Who reports the scans, and will results go to my GP as well as to me?

• If a procedure is needed, where would it be done, and what happens in an emergency overnight?

• Is the quote split into consultant fee, hospital fee and tests?

• How would my private care link to the NHS cardiology department if my condition becomes complex?