§ Introduction
§ The national service framework for coronary heart disease, published in March 2000, heralded a new era for the development of fast and modern services for the prevention and treatment of heart disease. Four years on from its publication, the combination of a clear set of national standards, sustained levels of investment and reform and redesign of services has delivered real improvements for patients. Primary care has made extraordinary progress in ensuring that patients with heart disease are on the right combination of drugs to lengthen their lives. Waiting times for bypass surgery and angioplasty have fallen dramatically. Patients with a heart attack are treated quickly with life-saving clot busting drugs.
§ With significant progress now secured for patients with coronary artery disease, the NHS is now well placed to deliver similar improvements for patients with arrhythmia and with syndromes that can lead to sudden cardiac death. These patients have already benefited from the substantial growth in NHS staff, equipment and facilities. The Government have now agreed to drive further progress for these patients by working with patients, families and NHS professionals to develop new NSF standards or practice recommendations for these conditions.
§ The strength of the existing NSF has been that it is based on the views of clinicians, patients and their families. Its aims and approaches have credibility with those who deliver it and those who benefit from it. The aim of this consultation paper is to invite initial comments from everyone with an interest in these issues to ensure that we can build a similar consensus for this new NSF chapter.
14WS§ The views received will be considered by a new expert group that is being established by the Department of Health to take forward the task of writing the new NSF chapter. Detailed membership of the group will be published shortly, but it will include patients, relatives of patients, patient organisations, professional bodies, experts in the field, health service managers and other Government Departments with an interest. The group will be chaired by Dr. Roger Boyle, national clinical director for heart disease, and is aiming to produce the new chapter within twelve months.
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The attached paper sets out the proposed scope of the work and how we propose to take the work forward. In addition to your comments on this way forward, we would welcome specific views on:
Whether the scope covers all the aspects of these conditions which the new NSF chapter should cover;
Examples of existing good practice in the management of these conditions that might inform the work of the expert group;
Views on the obstacles to progress on developing state of the art services for these patients, and suggestions on how these might be overcome;
Areas where further research is needed to improve understanding of these conditions;
Views on what the immediate, medium term and long term priorities should be for these services; and
How best to ensure that the patient, family and carer perspective is at the forefront of policy and service development.
§ Details of how to respond to this consultation are included at the end of this document.