Stockton North MP, Alex Cunningham, is backing the Fighting Failure campaign to raise awareness of the impact of heart failure and support improved outcomes for the 15.2% of the Tees Valley population who are living with heart failure.
A report by the campaign shows that heart failure prevalence in the Tees Valley has increased by 2.3% between 2002 and 2018, with further increases expected between 2018 and 2025. In 2019/2020 there were 6,895 emergency admissions due to heart failure – over 4,000 of them male, and 1510 of those attributed to males and females up to the age of 64.
£2 billion – around 2% of the annual NHS budget is dedicated to heart failure care.
Fighting Failure is calling for two asks:
- Ensuring everyone with suspected heart failure has access to a simple blood test which will allow for quick referral for investigation;
- Ensuring timely access to specialist care to improve patient outcomes.
Alex said:
“The emergence of COVID-19 has made it more important than ever to ensure that suspected heart failure is diagnosed early and that those with a confirmed diagnosis are able to access specialist care.
“In an area in which a male in Stockton town centre lives 18 years fewer than a male living in Hartburn, it’s clear that we need more investment to tackle conditions such as heart failure, ensure our people get timely specialist care, and provide fit for purpose twenty-first century infrastructure such as a new hospital for our area.”
More information on the campaign can be found here: https://www.fightingfailure.co.uk/
