Around 30,000 extra heart disease deaths have occurred in England since the start of the covid-19 pandemic, a charity has said, as it warned further lives will be lost as NHS waiting lists grow.
A report from the British Heart Foundation (BHF) said patients are still dying needlessly due to severe ambulance delays, difficulties in accessing care and rising waiting lists for treatments and diagnoses. Its analysis shows there have been, on average, more than 230 extra deaths per week over and above what would be expected for heart disease since the start of the pandemic.
NHS figures show that ambulances in England took an average of 47 minutes and 59 seconds in September to respond to emergency calls such as for a suspected heart attack. This was up from 42 minutes and 44 seconds in August and well above the target of 18 minutes.
There are also ongoing issues with ambulances getting stuck outside hospitals due to delays in being able to hand over patients to A&E. The BHF report described a “vast backlog of time-sensitive cardiac care”, which has grown by almost 50% since the pandemic began to nearly 350,000 people.
It also pointed to a large number of “missing” heart patients who may have conditions such as high blood pressure that put them at higher risk of heart attack and stroke. Dr Charmaine Griffiths, chief executive of the BHF, said: “It is devastating that the ongoing and extreme disruption to heart care has meant that 30,000 more families have lost a loved one.
“Today, many hundreds of thousands of people fear that their heart condition could get worse before they get treatment – potentially stopping them from working or enjoying a full life. Many more are completely unaware they now have a condition putting them at a greater risk of early death from a heart attack or stroke.
“There isn’t a moment to lose – the urgent needs of heart patients and NHS staff must be heard. As this new Government draws up its priorities for healthcare, a heart strategy must be at the top of the agenda to prevent more heartbreak and needless loss of life.”
An NHS spokesman said: “While Covid has inevitably had an impact with fewer people coming forward for care, there has been a significant increase in referrals for cardiac care over the last year and staff are already making significant progress on the longest waiters – many of whom are cardiac patients – with the number of people waiting more than 18 months 60% lower in August compared to the same month last year.
“Our national elective recovery plan set out a comprehensive blueprint for tackling backlogs and local teams are working hard to restore their cardiac services to pre-pandemic levels while maintaining a focus on preventing heart disease in the first place, so if you are worried about symptoms please come forward for care.”
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