ABHI Cardiovascular Health Check Report: Reflections from Steve McCabe MP
As a valve patient and Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Heart Valve Disease, I was pleased to see the ABHI Health Check Report on how HealthTech can provide solutions and benefits across the whole pathway of care for cardiovascular disease.
In my work with the APPG, it has been clear that early detection, diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease is key to better outcomes. For me, the ABHI report is a crucial step in getting patients on to their pathway more quickly and ensuring they get the treatment they need as early as is clinically appropriate.
A key component to early detection is better awareness of the disease and the red flag symptoms of breathlessness, dizziness and fatigue. We need to empower the public with the information they require to ensure they immediately respond to changes in their health. Campaigns like Heart Valve Voice’s 100,000 Conversations are a brilliant way of starting a national conversation about cardiovascular disease but we still need to do more. This year, I’m committed to working with Government and senior NHS leaders to explore the need for a national breathlessness campaign.
There’s also a real need for investment in diagnostic equipment and innovation in pathways to optimise the workforce and allow the health service to listen to more hearts with greater accuracy and get patients from that heart check to an MDT as quickly as possible. The ABHI can certainly drive access and adoption of intelligent diagnostics equipment and I look forward to seeing new technologies in the coming years. This will need the NHS to upskill its existing workforce and ensure new Diagnostic Centres have the equipment and skills required to deliver optimal patient pathways.
The pressures confronting patients and the health service are stark. Patients now face record waiting times, and hospitals are struggling to clear the backlog caused by the pandemic. Despite these immense pressures, I see this as an opportunity to make a case for investment in technology to alleviate that strain. Heart Valve Voice’s #JustTreatUs campaign and other research into the backlog will highlight the need for more treatment and how improved pathways can actually reduce the burden on the NHS. Policymakers must now collaborate with patients, clinicians and industry to deliver the solutions.
The recent publication of the NICE guideline for heart valve disease gives us the starting point, and Heart Valve Voice’s Gold Standard of Care and British Heart Valve Society’s Blueprint illustrate what an optimal pathway looks like. A National Cardiovascular Disease Strategy, as recommended in the ABHI report, will give us the roadmap to delivering those pathways, and I am committed to working in partnership with the ABHI to shape that change.
Steve McCabe MP