Heart Failure Awareness week, marked annually in May, gives the healthcare sector an opportunity to shine a light on the work undertaken to the lives of those diagnosed with heart failure (HF). Health Innovation West Midlands (HIWM) has long worked on cardiology projects, including the Heart Failure Project, which has enhanced primary care network (PCN) approaches to the condition both regionally and nationally. 

HF affects around 900,000 people in the UK, and this number is likely to rise, due to an ageing population and improved survival rates after a heart attack thanks to more effective treatments. However, despite advances in treatment, mortality remains high with around 30-40% of patients dying within a year of diagnosis. 

HIWM recognised that there is a wide variation in timely access to diagnostics and treatment, resulting in sub-optimal treatment. The Heart Failure Project sought to address the pinch points within the clinical pathway that can be improved, either through education, or implementation of innovations that will enable improvement. 

Working in collaboration with the regional cardiac network the project provided regional meetings for HF teams to share and learn and surveyed all the regions heart services to provide a landscape review. This helped embed HF champions into each integrated care system (ICS) and with targeting PCNs in relation to health inequalities and HF prevalence.  

The Heart Failure Project has resulted in 46% of PCNs committing to enhancing HF care through engaged champions, dedicated to undertaking improvement initiatives. 

Furthermore, 22% of PCNs have embraced our tailored resources for quality enhancement projects. Participating practices have contributed eight insightful case studies, facilitating knowledge dissemination and adoption.  

Additionally, HIWM have, in the last year alone, hosted eight HF upskilling workshops. Attended by 216 individuals, these were conducted across the integrated care board. Some PCN pharmacists have shadowed HF champions, subsequently establishing HF clinics within their PCN.  

A comprehensive toolkit has been developed and shared to support these endeavours. Moreover, a State of the Region Report was produced following a comprehensive survey of all HF services, while two regional workshops, in collaboration with the cardiac network, were convened. 

To find out more about the Heart Failure Project, please click here.