Health Innovation North West Coast is celebrating after winning a prestigious award for its work in combating atrial fibrillation (AF) – during the week dedicated to raising awareness of the condition.
Health Innovation North West Coast, which is the Academic Health Science Network for the North West Coast, has been selected as one of the AF Association’s Healthcare Pioneers for Best Practice in Atrial Fibrillation.
AF is an irregular pulse which can lead to stroke and the Innovation Agency has an exemplary programme of work in helping to detect and treat AF in a bid to reduce strokes in the region.
A case study on its work in implementing a ‘detect, protect and correct’ strategy for AF in GP practices across the North West Coast is now featured in the prestigious AF Association Healthcare Pioneers Report 2019.
Developed by the AF Association, the Healthcare Pioneers Report recognises best practice in the identification, diagnosis, treatment and care of patients with AF and is used as a benchmark to improve services and care for patients with the condition.
Dr Julia Reynolds, Head of Programmes at the Innovation Agency, and her colleague Dr Michelle Colleiro were invited to the Palace of Westminster in London to accept the award at a parliamentary reception.
They were presented with a certificate of achievement by Professor A John Camm, President and Trustee of the AF Association.
Dr Reynolds said it was fitting to win the award during Global AF Aware Week 2018: “The team are delighted to receive this award and it is a testament to their hard work and the work of the GP practice teams in the North West Coast who participated in the programme and are dedicated to improving outcomes for their patients.”
Trudie Lobban MBE, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the AF Association said: “We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who submitted case studies, and to congratulate the 15 winners who demonstrate excellent good practice and development of AF services to improve patient outcomes and quality of life.”
The AF team, comprising Dr Julia Reynolds, Dr Michelle Coleiro, Paul Brain and Haku Bhatt, worked tirelessly across East Lancashire, Blackburn with Darwen, Warrington, West Cheshire and Wirral CCGs to support the delivery of a package of innovation and best practice to identify and better manage people with AF in primary care.
They discovered there were 5,636 people with undiagnosed AF in those five areas, as well as 4,721 AF patients who were not being treated with anticoagulation for the condition which could have led to 450 potential strokes.
The team distributed portable ECG devices to enable them to test more pulses, as well as providing training and support for AF improvement. They aim to continue this work in 2019.
Read the Healthcare Pioneers 2019 report here
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