Cardiology Unit

The Heart Area

The Heart Area includes, under a single joint management, the Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery Services of the Hospital Clínico Universitario Virgen de la Victoria, which directly serves a reference population of 450,000 people. This figure increases in some areas of our group’s activity to more than 1,100,000 people (these areas include Cardiac Surgery, Arrhythmias, or Hemodynamics for certain procedures).

The future presents us with significant challenges, such as the aging of the population served with more comorbidity and longer life expectancy, a scenario of advances and technological innovation for the treatment of this population, and a growing demand to treat higher-risk patients with less aggressive approaches, as well as the need to offer the best care with sustainable costs and providing maximum satisfaction for our patients.

Healthcare Activity

The Regional Ministry of Health of the Junta de Andalucía, through the Quality Framework Plan, defined “quality improvement” as the horizon of Andalusian health policy, a fundamental element to consolidate the Public Health System of Andalusia and to reinforce its social legitimacy. To this end, we established that all actions of the organizations that make up our healthcare system should prioritize service to the citizen over any other objective, considering the satisfaction of their needs and aspirations as a quality standard—among others.

To make this approach a reality, we started from the need to involve all healthcare professionals in this improvement policy, recognizing their work and valuing their dedication and attitude, aware that their active and positive cooperation toward the people who use the services is an essential and determining element for quality and for generating trust in public health services.

SAS Style Guide

Formulating this guide is of great value and reveals that the SAS truly cares about the quality of its actions, respect for users, and the satisfaction of the needs and expectations of citizens

To this end, we must welcome the initiative of the Andalusian Health Service to create and disseminate its own style guide adapted to the values, mission, and nature of the public service it provides to citizens. The fact, unique in our National Health System, of formulating this guide is of great value and reveals that this organization truly cares about the quality of its actions, respect for users, and the satisfaction of the needs and expectations of citizens, who are the center and driving force of quality improvement programs.

This style guide reminds us of the values that the Andalusian Health Service wishes to express in the relationships between professionals and users—values that are the expression of the very “soul” of this organization, which is oriented toward satisfying the needs and expectations of patients by prioritizing the principles of equity and respect for differences, personalization, and the comprehensiveness of the care process.