Angina patients get a rough deal. While people who have stents and by-passes are offered support from Cardiac Rehab Units, most angina patients have to manage on medication, just medication.
A couple of weeks ago, after our local Rehab Unit pulled the plug on the partial funding we got for our Fitness Group, I was ecstatic. Well for a week.
Firstly, the Group was saved by our paying for it to continue. Secondly, we persuaded the organisers to allow stable angina patients to join.
And that was fantastic news.
The catch? Well, they had to get a form filled in by their GP.
GPs in our area don't know of of our Group.
So we put a blog together, with forms that GPs need and other helpful information.
The reason we were given for the withdrawal of funding was that attendance was insufficient for the Group to be viable.
Now it appears that we are still not listed by the British Heart Foundation who have a helpful service enabling heart patients to find exercise groups.
There's little or no material available so GPs can be informed and no action appears to be taking place about telling GPs about the facility.
No local professional has bothered to look at the blog, let alone contribute to it.
But somewhere boxes are being ticked. If the service is withdrawn patients will be blamed. Patients who desperately need this service and who don't know about it. Nor do their GPs....