Our picture shows Dr Sue Kemsley, CVD Clinical Lead at Health Innovation North West Coast; Sarah Cockburn, Senior Programme Manager at Health Innovation North West Coast, with the award; Prof Rajiv Sankaranarayanan, Heart Failure Lead at NHS Cheshire and Merseyside; Pumping Marvellous Chief Executive Officer Nick Hartshorne-Evans; Michael Foo, Project Manager at Health Innovation North West Coast; and Eleanor Garnett-Bentley, Associate Director at Health Innovation North West Coast
Health Innovation North West Coast joined forces with charity the Pumping Marvellous Foundation to deliver a series of events to raise awareness of heart failure.
The events, part of the foundation’s BEAT campaign, attracted capacity audiences of non-specialist health and care colleagues who wanted to improve their understanding of a condition that is often overlooked and misunderstood.
The events were aimed at GPs, primary care and community teams, pharmacists, allied health professionals and paramedics, and focused on recognising symptoms and improving treatment of heart failure.
They were designed to contribute to the drive for earlier diagnosis which can give patients a wider range of treatment options and better outcomes, as well as ease pressure on services.
The education events, known as Marvellous Heart Failure Masterclasses, form part of a three-year programme to reduce the social and economic impact of the condition. They were held at Preston North End FC’s Deepdale stadium and Everton in the Community’s Blue Base centre in Liverpool.
Nick Hartshorne-Evans, Chief Executive Officer of the Pumping Marvellous Foundation, is a heart failure patient and founded the charity to help people live well with the condition.
He said: “Health Innovation North West Coast have delivered fantastic support to us since we started our partnership last year.
“Our aim is to help people live the best lives they can and to do that we need to raise awareness of a condition about which there are a lot of misconceptions.
“Health Innovation North West Coast have the experience and expertise to convene the key individuals to make sure we always have the right people in the room. They’ve been outstanding partners and we look forward to this flourishing in the future.”
Michael Foo, Project Manager at Health Innovation North West Coast, said: “We’re exploring ways to improve the diagnosis and treatment of heart failure which is both a local and a national priority.
“It makes sense to form a partnership with a charity such as Pumping Marvellous which is dedicated to improving care and is run by a team of people who know what they’re talking about.
“They bring a great deal of passion to what they do, and we were able to complement that with our links to the health and care system. Between us we can be a powerful force for spreading the message.”
Heart failure accounts for around five per cent of all NHS medical emergency admissions and two per cent of all NHS hospital bed-days. It also accounts for around two per cent of the NHS’s total annual expenditure.
- Around 1,000,000 people are living with heart failure in the UK, with approximately 200,000 new cases diagnosed each year. It is estimated that nearly 400,000 people have undiagnosed heart failure.
- Heart failure accounts for millions of NHS inpatient bed days every year, placing strain on health services and emergency care pathways.
- Early detection in primary care and community settings has been shown to improve outcomes by reducing morbidity, mortality, and avoidable hospital admissions, while improving people’s quality of life.
Health Innovation North West Coast has supported Pumping Marvellous’s BEAT heart failure community screening programme since April 2024. Since then, more than 2,600 people have been screened for heart failure, high blood pressure, atrial fibrillation and high cholesterol and respiratory conditions. Around 500 NT-pro-BNP tests, designed to diagnose heart failure, have been carried out.
At a recent BEAT screening event in south Liverpool, 380 people were screened for heart failure, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, while spirometry and FeNO tests were also carried out.
The screening led to 10 heart failure diagnoses and seven atrial fibrillation diagnoses, while 43 per cent of those screened were hypertensive.
Only 25 NT-pro-BNP tests were needed, which demonstrates this was a cost-effective screening model which could reduce unnecessary testing.
Pumping Marvellous has given special recognition awards to Senior Programme Manager Sarah Cockburn and Project Manager Michael Foo from Health Innovation North West Coast for their commitment to raising awareness about heart failure. Read more on our website.
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