History
In
20 years since it’s
inception in 1985 the Wolverhampton Coronary Aftercare
Support Group
raised over £1,000,000 for the benefit
of patients and carers of the Coronary Carer Unit of
New Cross Hospital, Wolverhampton.
Over £380,000
was spent on salaries to provide a rehabilitation sister,
to give lifestyle advice and
organise education sessions,
and also a physiotherapist and an assistant physiotherapist,
who ran the exercise programmes.
In
addition money was spent on:
-
Life
saving Telemetry equipment for the Coronary
Care Unit.
-
Life
saving defibrillators for use throughout
the hospital.
-
Exercise
equipment for use in hospital and at leisure
centres.
-
Fast
track entrance to the Coronary Care Unit.
-
Refurbishment
and furniture
-
Sundry
additional items for the Ward to ease the
patients’ stay.
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The
Group campaigned strongly in April 2000 in support
of a proposal to develop
cardiac surgery and interventionary
cardiology services at New Cross Hospital
for the
population of the Black Country and surrounding areas
in order to meet the
Government’s revascularisation
targets outlined in the
National Service Framework
for Coronary Heart Disease.
A petition in support
of the bid compiled by the Group on behalf of the local
population, containing
thousands of signatures, outlining
the need and support for this development was presented
in the
House of Commons by our local Member of Parliament
and is recorded in Hansard.
The proposal was accepted and became a reality in September
2002.
The Wolverhampton Heart and Lung Centre is
a prestigious development of
tertiary services having
provided the recruitment of many hundreds of
staff
and the development of clinical pathways that ensure
a first class service
for both patients and carers.
The
Group Chairman has received
an MBE from
Her Majesty
the Queen for his
services to coronary care.
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The
President received
an
OBE from
HRH Prince Charles
for
founding the Group.
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In addition to raising funds
for the services
it renders the Group provides a “PATIENTS’ FRIEND” service.
This is a one-to-one service for patients, both pre and
post surgery, where a former patient,
who has undergone
the same treatment, offers counselling, thus reducing
the fear element.
The
Group also acts as the “PATIENTS’ VOICE” locally,
regionally and nationally.
It has representatives on
a number of committees in the Department of Health,
NICE ,
British Cardiovascular Society and the
Royal
College of Physicians, as well as West Midlands Region,
the Black Country Cardiac Network Board
and the Wolverhampton
CHD Local Implementation Team.
Members
of the Group are actively involved in volunteer work
in the
Heart and Lung Centre, providing “tea
rounds” for patients and staff in all
wards
including Outpatients Department.
This has recently
expanded to cover Stroke patients, who have special
needs.
Some members also act as receptionists
to guide visitors to where they need to go.
As
the Centre also receives patients from Dudley , Walsall
and other areas, the Group maintains regular
contact
and a close working relationship with its counterparts
in the hospitals from where the patients originate.
