Rapid access chest pain clinics: putting NICE guidance into practice

Abstract

Rapid access chest pain clinics (RACPC) were introduced nationally following the publication of the National Service Framework for Coronary Heart Disease in 2000. The aim is to ensure that people with new onset chest pain, thought to be angina, receive prompt treatment and investigations following evidence based guidelines. In 2010 the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) published new guidance on the assessment and diagnosis of new onset chest pain which suggested changes in how most RACPC are run. This paper presents an audit that examined putting this NICE guidance into practice and discusses various issues that arose relating to its clinical application.