Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what representations his Department has received from the British Society for Heart Failure on changes in the level of patients who are developing heart failure through not presenting at hospital with heart attack symptoms during the covid-19 outbreak.

The Department has not received any representations from the British Society for Heart Failure regarding this specific issue.

With a rise in COVID-19 activity, we have been clear that non-COVID-19 services will be maintained as far as possible and clinically urgent patients should continue to be treated first.

Throughout the summer and autumn of 2020, the National Health Service has run an ongoing media campaign ‘Help us to help you’, encouraging patients to seek urgent medical help when they are unwell, including clear messaging for patients with heart attack symptoms to call 999.

One of the ambitions of the NHS Long Term Plan is to raise awareness of the symptoms of heart failure and to ensure early and rapid access to diagnostic tests and treatment. This work remains a priority for NHS England and NHS Improvement during the COVID-19 pandemic.