Andrew Lansley answers BHF question on future of heart nurses

In today’s live web chat with the Royal College of Nursing, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley answered our important question about the future of specialist heart nurses.

Via Twitter, we asked: Our specialist heart nurses prevent admissions & save money. How will long term savings be prioritised over short term cuts?

In his response, Andrew Lansley seemed to emphasise the important and “effective” work our heart nurses do. He also said the health service should recognise that our nurses could provide opportunities rather than extra costs in the face of the Government’s continuing drive to make savings.

But why did we ask the Health Secretary about the future of our nurses?

Over the years, specialist heart nurses have become a lifeline for those suffering from heart disease and patients and carers have come to trust them. Their expert clinical and emotional support helps people with cardiovascular disease regain control of their lives every single day.

For the last eight years we’ve trained and supported specialist heart nurses in NHS trusts up and down the country. We now support 426 nurses who provide invaluable care to more than 80,000 patients each year.

We know that tough decisions are going to have to be made in the current economic situation. But we’re worried that a short term view to savings might see cuts to specialist nurses and we think that would be a false economy. Our nurses keep people out of hospital, reducing the enormous burden heart disease puts on healthcare services.

Let’s talk about a specific example. As you read this around 720,000 people are living with heart failure and our nurses’ caring and expert help improves the lives of so many. Having heart failure can make everyday life a challenge for so many people as they require regular check-ups, need to manage complex medication regimes while many more experience disabling symptoms which leave them housebound.

And if you weren’t persuaded by the benefits to patients, then there’s a compelling business case as well. An independent evaluation in 2008 found Heart Failure Specialist Nurses saved around £1,826 per patient after the nurse’s salary had been deducted. That’s £8m in a single year. Our efforts helped cut hospital admissions by, on average, 35%. Why would we want to make cuts to a service which actually saves us money?

If specialist posts were put at risk as part of the Government’s latest efficiency drive, the quality of life for those suffering from heart disease would be greatly diminished, at a significant cost to the NHS.

Beatrice Brooke, Policy manager

Andrew Lansley answers BHF question in online Q&A

Today Health Secretary Andrew Lansley took part in a live online Q&A answering questions on the Government’s proposals to reform health services in Britain via Twitter and the Number10 website.

We took this opportunity to ask him the following question:

"Will the Govt put public health at the heart of plans & implement vital tobacco control legislation to protect children?"

This is because it was reported in the media last week that ministers may not implement new laws to ban cigarette vending machines.

We have campaigned hard to get rid of these machines because we know they are an easy source of tobacco for children.

Nearly 40 per cent of adults who smoke, or are ex-smokers, started before they were 16 and we estimate about 23,000 11-15 year olds get hold of cigarettes from vending machines in England and Wales – and another 851 in Northern Ireland.

My final depressing but poignant statistic is that every year in the UK, 114,000 smokers die as a result of smoking, with over 25,000 smoking-related deaths from heart disease.

It’s obvious why it’s so crucial the Government sees through this legislation.

In his response, Andrew Lansley said:

“We need a more effective public health strategy too many things have been heading in the wrong direction, including obesity, alcohol and drug misuse and sexually transmitted infections. As we interfere less in the NHS day by day I want us to be a Government that focuses more on improving our health and wellbeing depends on working across society.

Smoking is still the biggest preventable cause of early deaths. We have had important legislation to ban smoking in public places, further controls especially on under-age tobacco sales. Although smoking has declined from about more than half the population smoking 40 years ago to between a quarter and a fifth now it is stubborning(sic) persistent now.

I think we have got to look to new approaches for public health that are not just about supply but are also about demand. So we need to change people's relationship with tobacco or drugs or alcohol so that they don't need or become dependent on these.

Where people see that the majority of people don't like to be exposed to tobacco smoke, where those who do smoke understand that it is expensive and harmful, our public health strategy to be published later this year will look at how we can increase the effectiveness of tackling these health challenges much more effectively in the future.”

We hope the new coalition Government, with its commitment to public health, implements the vital ban on cigarette vending machines and tobacco advertising at point of sale – to help stop children taking up this deadly habit.

Thank you to everyone who helped us get a response by retweeting our question. We couldn't have got an answer without your help, and a special thank you goes to @HannahT83 on Twitter whose retweet was answered by Andrew Lansley.

If you want to do more, we are asking supporters to email their MP asking them to make sure this law becomes reality.

To find out more about our cigarette vending machine campaign, visit our campaigns section on the BHF website.

By Maura Gillespie, Head of Policy & Advocacy