Leading heart failure society launches moving ‘Gogglebox-style’ film – ‘Focusing on Freedom’ – for members
- British Society for Heart Failure launches moving 22-minute film ‘Focusing on Freedom’ presenting the video diaries of four individuals living with heart failure
- Snapshotting some of their challenges, triumphs and aspirations
- Reviewed by a panel of clinicians from cardiology, nursing and General Practice, whilst being filmed themselves (‘Gogglebox-style’)
- A privileged insight into the life of those with heart failure
- Available to download by BSH Members for education and presentation
- Designed to educate the wider clinical community and patients
- Heart failure is a growing societal issue: at least 1 million people are affected by heart failure in the UK[[i]] with a further 200,000 newly diagnosed each year
- ‘Freedom from Failure’ – The F word’ and raise public awareness of the common symptoms of heart failure to motivate early seeking of medical advice to improve outcomes – The F Word is Failure #TheFWord #FreedomfromFailure
Tuesday 2nd May 2022: Today the British Society for Heart Failure (BSH), the professional association for heart failure care in the UK, is launching a moving ‘Gogglebox-style’ film called ‘Focusing on Freedom’, 22 minutes in length, looking into the lives of four individuals with heart failure. Intended for use by all who need to educate on the impact of heart failure on life. Equally applicable for health care professionals across healthcare settings, patients, students and for self-education.
Each of the four patients in the film, members of the BSH Patient Advisory Panel, recorded a video diary capturing moments of the impact of heart failure on their life which are generally not apparent inside the consulting room/ GP surgery. These privileged insights were created into four stories for comment to a panel of four healthcare professionals from different health settings (cardiology, nursing and General Practice), who were themselves then filmed in real time in ‘Gogglebox-style’ to produce the final film.
Comments from the healthcare professionals reviewing the video diaries include:
- Dr Rushabh Shah, General Practitioner, Nottingham:
- “Education is key. Patients need to educate us and come forward to tell their stories to motivate and help others.
- Teresa O’Nwere-Tan, Heart Failure Clinical Nurse Specialist, Homerton University Hospital, London:
- “Treatments have changed over the last 30 years or so. It is important for the public to understand that we can take the fear out of the heart failure journey.”
- Dr Henry Savage, Heart Failure and Devices Cardiologist, Basildon University Hospital, Essex: “There is a lot of hope in terms of the treatments available and being with the right healthcare professional who will take you by the hand and lead you through this. We will do that.”
- Dr Patricia Campbell, Heart Failure and Echo Cardiologist, Southern Trust, Northern Ireland:
- “This has been a ‘re-setting’ experience. Seeing how heart failure impacts people’s lives brings our focus on that the job we are doing is for the person, the individual, in front of us.”
The film is one of several exclusive resources created for BSH Members. Also launched this week is the BSH Members Resource Hub – a continually updated suite of educational items such as case studies, presentation slide decks, posters, films and patient resources. Produced as part of the ‘Freedom from Failure – the F Word’ 5-year strategy, these resources add to a growing repository provided by BSH to make heart failure a national priority.
At least 1 million people are affected by heart failure in the UK[i] with a further 200,000 newly diagnosed each year. It must not be underestimated that the risk of death from heart failure is higher than for some of the most common cancers[ii] therefore, heart failure should be recognised, detected and treated with the same urgency as a disease as malignant as cancer[iii].
BSH Chair, Professor Roy Gardner, Consultant Cardiologist, Heart Failure Specialist, Golden Jubilee Hospital, Glasgow commented: “With appropriate management it is possible for people to live well with heart failure. Outcomes can be dramatically improved through earlier, faster diagnosis, specialist referral and expediting optimal treatment onto guideline recommended therapies[iv]. This is an important aim of the care we provide as Heart Failure Specialists.”
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