Table 2.
Survey analysis based on age groups (up to 60 years old vs. over 60 years old)
| ≤60 years n = 471/1050 | >60 years n = 579/1050 | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anxiety about HF (mean ± SD) (0 = no anxiety and 10 = highest anxiety level) | 6.3 ± 2.2 | 5.9 ± 2.5 | 0.005 |
| Anxiety about COVID (mean ± SD) (0 = no anxiety and 10 = highest anxiety level) | 7.3 ± 2.3 HF vs. COVID | 6.7 ± 2.6 HF vs. COVID | 0.0003 |
| Number of appointments scheduled (mean ± SD) | 2.5 ± 1.6 (1179 appointments) | 1.8 ± 1.2 (1081 appointments) | <0.001 |
| Percentage of patients with appointments, investigations, or procedures adversely affected | 73% of patients (344/471) | 59% of patients (342/579) | <0.001 |
| Face‐to face hospital appointments cancelled (% of total appointments) | 48% (190/393) | 37% (131/350) | 0.003 |
| Community appointments cancelled (% of total appointments) | 28% (64/228) | 17% (50/295) | 0.002 |
| Investigation/procedure cancelled (% of total appointments) | 40% (221/558 | 32% (141/436) | 0.04 |
| Investigation/procedure postponed (% of total appointments) | 51% (279/558) | 41% (181/436) | 0.008 |
| Prescription or monitoring affected (% of patients) | 43% (204/471) | 33% (189/579) | <0.001 |
| ‘Don't feel can access services’ (% of patients) | 33% (155/471) | 34% (199/579) | NS |
| Patients willing to attend hospital if required (% of patients) | 73% (345/471) | 66% (381/579) | 0.01 |
| ‘I would have no concerns about attending the hospital’ | 17% (79/471) | 19% (108/571) | |
| ‘I would attend the hospital if there were appropriate measures in place to ensure my safety’ | 56% (266/471) | 47% (273/579) | |
| Patients reluctant to attend hospital | 26% (126/471) | 34% (198/579) | 0.004 |
| ‘Would attend hospital only if no alternative’ | 23% (110/471) | 26% (150/579) | |
| ‘Would never attend hospital’ | 3% (16/471) | 8% (48/579 | |
| Preference for new service models | |||
| Telephone appointment | 56% (264/471) | 49% (282/579) | 0.02 |
| Video consultation | 44% (206/471) | 26% (149/579) | <0.001 |
| Ambulatory i.v. diuretic | 33% (156/471) | 25% (147/579) | 0.005 |
| Home i.v. diuretic | 40% (187/471) | 33% (191/579) | 0.02 |
| Home monitoring | 56% (265/471) | 47% (270/579) | 0.003 |
| One stop HF diagnostic clinic | 75% (354/471) | 67% (387/579) | <0.001 |
| Patients not under care of hospital HF team | 10% | 25% | |
| Patients not under care of community HF team | 29% | 34% | |
HF, heart failure; i.v., intravenous; NS, not significant.
NB. Out of 1050 patient responses, there were 41 instances (3.9%) when the sum of the individual appointments listed did not equal the total number quoted in response to Question 5 of the survey (supporting information). These numbers were similar in the two age groups (24/579 = 4% in the >60 years age group and 17/471 = 3.6% in the <60 years age group). In these instances, the sum of the individual appointments was used for data analysis.