ABHI Guest Blogs with Derek Thomas MP: Advancing Access to MedTech in Vascular and Venous Diseases
I was elected chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Vascular and Venous Disease almost six months ago and am relishing the opportunity to make a difference for the huge numbers of sufferers.
I am also interested in the huge advances being made in medical technologies and, in particular, the need to ensure that patients and clinicians can access these technologies.
Indeed I led a debate in Parliament 18 months ago on what can be done to accelerate access to new, innovative diabetes technologies.
During that debate I argued that the NHS needed to consider ways of becoming more flexible when commissioning new technologies and that the NHS and industry needed to work together to harness innovation and promote better treatment for patients.
Vascular Disease is as common as cancer and heart disease, and accounts for 40% of deaths in the UK, many of which are preventable. One of the most common forms of vascular disease is peripheral arterial disease (PAD), when the arteries in your legs are affected. It is estimated that 9% of the population suffer from PAD, which causes painful legs when walking, ulceration and, in serious cases, can result in amputation.
Venous disease is a condition where the flow of blood through the veins is inadequate, causing blood to pool in the legs.
Typical examples of venous diseases include varicose veins, venous inflammation, thrombosis and spider veins and there are a number of factors which help aggravate these conditions, such as standing or sitting a lot at work, obesity and lack of physical exercise. Tired and heavy legs, pins and needles or swollen ankles can all be signs of venous insufficiency.
Venous diseases are not curable, but they do respond well to treatment and new medical technologies can play an important part in improving outcomes for patients impacted by vascular disease.
Until now surgical bypass has been the mainstay of treatment to improve the circulation of patients with PAD but this is a major operation and the APPG is recommending the introduction of less invasive procedures such as angioplasty.
Indeed there are several new technologies which have been shown to have various degrees of effectiveness, including drug-eluting technology including the use of drugs incorporated into stents or angioplasty balloons.
This is one of the most recent technological innovations and offers the possibility of improving long-term outcomes.
The purpose of the APPG is to raise awareness of vascular and venous disease and the Group works to promote a greater priority for the prevention and treatment of the disease as unfortunately, public awareness of many vascular diseases is very low.
Over the past few months, we have done a considerable amount of work with Strategic Clinical Networks (SCN) across the country, finding out what the barriers to good care are in their area, what improvements have worked and determining the best way to share best practice across the country.
I would urge anyone interested, to visit our website which not only increases the information people can obtain about the Group, but also increases involvement from clinicians, patients and NHS staff.
Derek Thomas is Member of Parliament for West Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (St Ives).