The British Heart Foundation (BHF) has launched a £1 million audit project aimed at revolutionising the way cardiac rehabilitation services in the UK operate. The National Cardiac Rehabilitation Audit Project will, for the first time, begin to harvest quality data about the effectiveness and uptake of cardiac rehabilitation programmes across the UK.
Audit boost for cardiac care
Cardiac rehabilitation is recognised as one of the most effective ways of helping to prevent heart patients suffering further heart attacks or other cardiac problems, and helping them return to as full and active a life as possible.
Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director of the BHF, said: “We know that far too few patients take part in cardiac rehabilitation and that most programmes are understaffed, but until now, we have not had reliable data to back this up. Without good data, it will be impossible to achieve the improvements needed: NHS services cannot be reformed on a hunch.”
He added: “That is why the BHF is investing £1 million into this project – we believe it has the potential to bring help and hope to thousands of heart patients who currently leave hospital unsure of how to rebuild their confidence and reduce their risk of future problems.”
The project is a collaboration between the BHF, the British Association of Cardiac Rehabilitation (BACR), the Healthcare Commission, the Central Cardiac Audit Database project, the Royal College of Physicians, the Department of Health and the CHD Collaborative, as well as clinicians and patients.
