BCPA Journal - Issue 184 - British Cardiac Patients Association

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Contents 3 From Me to You – Keith Jackson 3 Ricky’s Quickies: Atorvastatin cheaper so more to be prescribed; ‘The Truth About Transplants’ book; Could readmissions within 30 days be reduced; Rebalancing the planet – Richard Maddison 4–5 News from around the Areas 6 Aspirin also helps cancer prevention – A summary by Richard Maddison of research by Peter Rothwell 7 A package of insurance products as individual as you – Unique Insurance staff 8–9 A Papworth Hospital patient’s story – William Gordon 9 Recipes: Tomatoes and rice gratin, Soft fruit pudding – Janet Jackson 10 Talks offered – Alan Thomas 11 Dates for your diary 11 Patients should have a voice too! – Nadine van Dongen, Managing Director, PIP Health 13 How do we ‘stat up’? – Corey Beecher 13–14 A New Beginning: Memoirs of a Voluntary Worker 1981-1996 – Fred Roach – Keith Jackson 14 Crossword 14 Co-ordinators, Contacts and Affiliated Groups 15 How to join – Membership form 16 Servier. Unique Insurance Donations We acknowledge here donations over £50 unless the donor wishes otherwise. The BCPA really needs the donations. Mrs Joan Edmundson 90th birthday £325 to Papworth Hospital Fund. Mrs Edmundson received a new valve 24 years ago. £310 in memory of Margaret London, an active member of Peterborough Area Group. Mrs Helen Whitehand has sent a further £55.00, added to her £315 80th birthday money acknowledged in the April Journal. Please send donations as cheques payable to BCPA, to BCPA Head Office, 15 Abbey Road, Bingham, Notts NG13 8EE Journal contributions and dates We invite members to send in items for publication – not only heart-related information and articles, but also lighthearted items and stories. Please phone me, Dr Richard Maddison 01234 212293, to agree the easiest way to send it in – don’t send it to Head Office. Normal closing dates are 20th of an even month –20 June, 20 August ... Please phone me before that date if you may be late. I’m really appealing for articles from members. NATIONAL HELPLINE 01223 846845 Do you have concerns or worries that you would like to talk to someone about? Our telephone helpline, as part of our national support services, normally operates 9.00am to 7.00pm Monday to Saturday. If you get no reply please leave your name and number, and we shall attend to your call as soon as possible. If you have a question or issue that is best in writing, please first phone or email Richard Maddison as p14, who will try to find an appropriate person to answer it. All the people who answer our helplines have been patients or carers so are likely to understand your concerns because they have been there. 2 Annual General Meeting Weekend 11-13 May 2012 The photograph on the front cover and those below show BCPA members enjoying a weekend together at the Menzies Hotel, Cambridge, during the Annual General Meeting and at the Gala Dinner held to celebrate 30 years of the Association. Having been President since the formation of the Association, Sir Terence English KBE FRCS handed the presidency over to Professor John Wallwork CBE FRCS to acclaim at the Annual General Meeting. Our thanks go to Sir Terence for the support he has given over this long period and we look forward to working with Professor Wallwork as the Association goes forward. Prior to the AGM Professor Wallwork gave a most interesting illustrated talk ‘Cardiac Surgery Then and Now’ showing the development and advancement in treatments over the years. At the AGM Dr Richard Maddison was re-elected as Vice Chairman and Dennis Atkinson as an Association Trustee.
Annual membership renewals and subscriptions We value all of our members and thank those of you who have sent in your annual subscriptions. Subscriptions became due on the 31st March. This is the final Journal reminder for overdue annual membership renewals. If your mailing label shows the number 12 then your membership lapsed on the 31st March 2012. Encouraging you to continue as a member of the Association, to continue to receive your six issues of the Journal each year and, if you are able, take part in area group activities, we trust that you will renew. Please complete either the renewal form enclosed with your April/May Journal or use the form printed in the back of this issue. Having completed the form please send it with your subscription to Head Office as soon as possible. It is pleasing to note the number of members who have opted to change to Life Membership thus saving themselves the annual chore of renewals. If you wish to From Me to You Keith Jackson, National Chairman Ricky’s Quickies - Richard Maddison Colin Readman With sadness I record Colin’s passing on Saturday 28th April. He was Chairman of the Bedford Area Group for many years. The funeral will have been on 16th May at St Andrew’s Church, Bedford. We send condolences to Tessa and their three children Joanne, Colin and Catherine. Colin Readman at Papworth Fete 11 June 1994 Atorvastatin cheaper so more to be prescribed As I expected 1 , the price of atorvastatin has dropped – by 93% after its patent held by Pfizer ended on 7th May, and a legal block on prescribing generic versions was lifted. 2 The massive drop in cost will save millions for the NHS and is likely to herald a sea-change in GP management of high cholesterol, with new patients needing a statin given atorvastatin rather than simvastatin. 2 Sources. 1 RM Quickies BCPA Journal 182 February 2012 2 Pulse Today 8/5/2012. ‘The Truth About Transplants’ book Paulette Pratt, an award-winning medical author, has written this introduction to transplantation, which may be useful to patients and their families, and to relevant medical and nursing staff. The book charts the history of transplantation, tackles the issues of organ supply and donation, and distinguishes patients suffering from brainstem death from those in irreversible cardiac arrest. It traces recipient experience from pre-op investigations to the operating theatre and the months and years afterwards. Paulette Pratt The Truth About Transplants. Janus Publishing. 162pp, A5 size, ISBN 978-1-85756-743-9, £14.95. Could readmissions within 30 days be reduced US policymakers thought of trying to reduce hospital readmission rates, as readmissions are common and costly. 1 To reduce costs and make this change then please complete the form and send in the appropriate details. Do please assure yourself that you have renewed your membership. As an Association we value having you as a member and do not wish to lose contact. Awareness and Area Group events As we move into the summer season, Area Groups up and down the country have a number of activities planned including attendance at village fêtes, disability awareness days, and other events. May I urge you all, members and readers of the Journal alike, that if you are near to an event please go along and have a look. Perhaps take the opportunity to make yourself known and join in with the occasion. You will be assured of a warm welcome. BCPA website www.BCPA.co.uk Not all members have access to the web, but an increasing number now do. If you are one of that growing number and have not yet looked at what is on our website may I urge you to do so. Amongst a growing range of information you will find the following. • A membership application/renewal form should you wish to use it • Past copies of the Journal • Newsletters from some of the BCPA Area Groups • Travel and other insurances • General health information • Factsheets on a range of heart issues • An extensive Glossary. Our website continues to attract attention. Why not become one of that growing number of people using this source? Holiday and other insurances Thank you to those who have taken advantage of insurance through Unique in past months. If you have not yet given them an opportunity to provide a quote maybe you could do so when seeking your holiday or other insurance cover. They cover the whole range of insurance needs. To contact Unique for a no obligation quote please call 01603 828246 or visit the BCPA website at www.bcpa.co.uk and look at the insurance section. See page 7. improve care, Congress directed that hospitals with poorer than expected 30-day readmission rates should be penalised. One’s initial reaction might be that this is a good idea. But NEJM authors say this misguided for three reasons 1 . The situation is not simple. 1 Only 12–20% of US readmissions within 30 days of discharge are preventable. 1 Many readmissions depend on factors that are outside the hospital’s control – patient characteristics, mental illness, poor social support, home situation, and poverty. 1 Only those in the first three days are more likely to be caused by the hospital. So 30 days is the wrong criterion. 2 Reducing injuries, infections and mistakes in hospitals, and improving coordination with out-of-hospital services should reduce readmissions. 1 Improved outpatient care helps to keep the healthiest patients from being hospitalized in the first place; so readmission rates rise – being the less healthy. 3 Aiming to reduce readmissions may conflict with patient safety 1 and survival. Hospitals with lower mortality rates among patients with heart failure have higher readmission rates. After keeping more of their patients alive such patients are more likely to be readmitted. High readmission rates can be from low mortality rates and/or good access to hospital care. Source 1 N Engl J Med 2012; 366:1366–1369, 12 April 2012. Rebalancing the planet Issues of world population, resources, consumption patterns and health are rarely discussed together in a scientific and systematic way. Papers for UN Conference on Sustainable Development on June 20– 22 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, hardly mention health and consumption. Developed high-income nations overconsume, and the bottom billion of the world population need both more calories for minimum dietary requirements and more resources to avoid poverty and poor health. 2 Source 2 The Lancet Volume 379, Issue 9827, Page 1678; doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60700, 5 May 2012. 3
Page 1: Issue 184 June / July 2012 THE PATI
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BCPA Journal - Issue 184 - British Cardiac Patients Association

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