10.08.17
Improved care saved lives of 500 heart failure sufferers last year
An independent report released today has found that hundreds more people are surviving heart failure due to improvements to patient care.
NHS England stated that the report found that the mortality rate for people admitted to hospital with heart failure has dropped from 9.6% to 8.9%, and that this reduction in the mortality rate means that around 500 lives have been saved in the past year compared to 2014-15.
The report assessed patients admitted to hospital between April 2015 and March 2016 with heart failure at NHS trusts, and showed that more people were being provided with crucial medicines for heart disease and had better access to specialist treatment.
It also went on to reveal that 80% of sufferers reporting heart failure at hospitals in England and Wales were seen by specialists, and that nine in 10 patients admitted to hospital received an echocardiogram – a key diagnostic test in heart failure conditions.
And the number of people being treated for heart failure with reduced ventricular ejection fraction who were seen by a specialist and received all three of the key prescriptions for the condition increased from 45% to 47%.
“The NHS is helping more people to survive heart failure,” said Sir Bruce Keogh, NHS England’s outgoing national medical director.
“This independent study shows that improvements to NHS heart failure services have had a significant positive impact for people suffering this devastating condition. Increasing numbers of patients are getting specialist help and the full range of treatments thanks to years of world-leading scientific and clinical research and the efforts of NHS staff.
“It is a very significant problem and we recognise that there is scope for even more improvement but the progress highlighted today will be a spur for us to do even more to improve care and survival rates.”
Responding to the report, Professor Sir Nilesh Samani, medical director at the British Heart Foundation, stated that the audit shows “promising signs” that the quality of hospital care for heart failure is improving, with fewer people dying as a result.
“However, we need to build on this progress,” said Prof Samani. “It is imperative we continue to close variations in heart failure care across hospitals and ensure more patients receive the best possible treatments. This, alongside research into new treatments, will ensure more people suffering from heart failure live longer, better lives.”
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