TREATMENT for heart disease in Britain is worse than almost anywhere else in the western world, despite pledges by Labour to improve services.
A new study reveals that fewer NHS patients have access to defibrillators, pacemakers and heart surgery than in most neighbouring nations.
In some parts of Britain, such as the northwest, up to a third of patients are failing to receive life-saving operations.
Doctors are demanding a public debate on how to tackle the growing pressure on heart services. One in three people in Britain are destined to suffer from heart disease.
The study, Access to Cardiac Care, has been commissioned by the British Heart Foundation, the British Cardiovascular Society and a coalition of 41 charities and voluntary groups.
The report predicts that demand for heart treatment will double by 2020, yet there is no clear indication that funds will be available to pay for it.
The forecast is in stark contrast to the ambition shown 10 years ago by Alan Milburn, then the health secretary, when heart disease claimed 140,000 lives annually. In a newspaper article at the time, Milburn said: “Tackling heart disease is one of the keys not only to a healthier nation but to a fairer nation.”
However, the number dying from heart disease has since increased to 198,000, with one in three victims under 75.
The study, carried out by Oxford Healthcare Associates, showed startling regional variations in cardiac services, with “overprovision” of treatment in affluent cities and the shires.
Roger Boyle, the heart czar, said heart operations had increased by 59% since 2000 and that deaths from cardiovascular disease had fallen by 44% in the past decade.
Source:The times
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