Lives in the East at risk due to 'ticking timebomb' in cardio care
A charity's warning that waiting times for treatment could be putting lives at risk.
The British Heart Foundation's revealed that the number of people waiting more than four months in the East for heart procedures and operations is 111% higher now than it was before the pandemic.
It says that's the biggest regional rise in England.
In Cambridgeshire and Peterborough the increase is a huge 972%.
The charity's warning that lives could be at risk due to the 'ticking timebomb' in cardiovascular care.
Latest figures show that 5,992 people in the region were waiting 18 weeks or more for heart-related treatments in February 2021, compared to 2,800 people in February 2020.
Hundreds have now been waiting over a year for care.
In February 2021, 308 people in the East of England had been waiting in excess of 12 months, compared to none in February 2020.
Breakdown of figures by local CCG:
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough - 1,147 people waiting 18 weeks or more, up 972% on same time last year. 18 people have been waiting over a year.
Ipswich and East Suffolk - 54 people waiting 18 weeks or more, down 43% on same time last year. Six people have been waiting over a year.
Norfolk and Waveney -964 people waiting 18 weeks or more, up 74% on same time last year. 69 people have been waiting over a year.
Concerns for the future
The charity says the devastating disruption to heart disease care by the pandemic could be putting lives at risk for years to come.
It's predicting that the official figures due this Autumn will show a rise in the UK's heart and circulatory disease death rate for 2020.
It says it sparks fear that decades of progress could reverse in the coming years.
The rise is due to 5,800 more deaths than would be expected (excess deaths) from conditions including heart attack and stroke in England during the first year of the pandemic, despite the NHS working harder than ever.
The charity says this spike in deaths is just the “tip of the iceberg”.
Missed opportunities to prevent and diagnose heart and circulatory diseases, an unprecedented backlog of people waiting for care, and a cliff-edge fall in research funding could amount to a loss of progress for a generation and lives cut short from treatable heart conditions.
It added that a fall in research funding will also likely delay treatments reaching patients.
The British Heart Foundation funds more than half of the UK's non-commercial cardiovascular research.
It's had to cut its budget in half from £100m to £50m in the last year, with similar cuts being seen across the medical research sector.
Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation and Consultant Cardiologist, said: "Despite the tireless efforts of NHS staff, the pandemic has caused untold heartbreak, with thousands of extra heart disease and stroke deaths and significant delays to cardiovascular care.
“However, what we have seen so far is only the tip of the iceberg.
"No part of the system providing care for people with heart and circulatory diseases has been left undamaged - from life saving prevention, detection, treatment, and recovery, to crucial research that could unlock future breakthroughs and cures.
“We face a cardiovascular ticking timebomb for the future that could start to reverse six decades of progress in reducing death rates from heart disease and stroke.
"Averting this disaster will require clear plans that help the NHS to recover, bolster public health, and revive the hard-hit medical research charity sector.
"Getting this right could protect thousands of lives from heart and circulatory diseases for years to come.”