Nurses hit the road to raise heart failure awareness

South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Trust's cardiology team will tour the local area in a community bus, raising awareness

A specialist NHS team will visit pubs and community hubs to help people understand if they are among those at risk of heart failure.

Specialist nurses from South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust will hop on board a local community bus later this month.

The team will visit sites such as the Rose and Crown pub in South Shields and Hedworthfield Community Association to raise awareness of heart failure symptoms.

Dr Mickey Jachuck said it would enable members of the public who find themselves at risk "to take steps so they can look after their future".

The tour is part of Heart Failure Awareness Week, which runs from Monday 29 April, the Trust said.

The information drive will stress the importance of early intervention to those with potential heart failure. It is also intended to help make sure people access any treatment they need and are offered ongoing support.

Symptoms the specialist team will be checking include a reduced ability to exercise, a fast heart rate and a persistent cough

Members of the cardiology team will join the Key Community Bus at the end of the month.

On Tuesday 30 April, the bus will be on Campbell Park Road in Hebburn, near to the Hebburn Family Hub, from 10:30 to 12:00 BST, and then at Hedworthfield Community Association in Cornhill, Fellgate, Jarrow, from 12:30 to 14:00 BST.

On Wednesday 1 May, the team will join the bus at the Rose and Crown pub in Prince Edward Road, South Shields, from 10:30 to 12:00 BST, and then at Ocean Road Community Association from 12:30 to 14:00 BST.

A stall will also be set up at Sunderland Royal Hospital where specialist staff will be on hand to speak to visitors, patients and colleagues, the trust said.

Dr Mickey Jachuck, the trust’s Clinical Director for Cardiothoracic Medicine and Clinical Microbiology and Infection, said: "The events we have coming up in our hospitals, and out in our communities, will help get people thinking about whether they could be among those who are undiagnosed and take steps so they can look after their future."