Heart disease 'is not a ticked box'

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ePolitix.com speaks to Julia Toft, advocacy manager at the British Heart Foundation, about its lobby day.

The British Heart Foundation is holding a lobby day at the House of Commons on February 3, what is a lobby day?

A parliamentary lobby day is when everyone who is passionate about an issue comes to the Houses of Parliament to speak to their MPs about it on the same day.

Who can attend this event?

Our lobby day is about people affected by heart and circulatory disease coming together to tell MPs about how important it is as an issue and how it affects people. We have people coming from across England including BHF campaigners, members of Hearty Voices and members of heart support groups, to meet their MPs and to help us launch the BHF's prescription for the UK's heart health – which contains the government commitments needed to protect the UK's heart health for the coming decade.

We urge MPs to come and join us to pledge their support for tackling heart and circulatory disease – the UK's biggest killer – at the general election and beyond. MPs can contact Gillian Watt, public affairs officer on 020 7554 0154 or wattg@bhf.org.uk for details.

Why do you think lobby days are necessary?

Lobby days can give a real boost to a cause. Our lobby day will provide an opportunity for patients and carers to tell MPs how heart disease has affected them.

By taking that extra effort to come all the way to Westminster to raise their concerns, they can show their MPs just how important the issue is to them.

Meeting with a heart patient who can explain first-hand the problems they have faced receiving cardiac rehabilitation, for example, can provide MPs with a deeper insight to the problem than even the best-written briefing paper.

Lobby days also bring together groups of people who are affected by the same issue allowing them to share their experiences. This can give more confidence to those who may feel unsure about meeting their MP on their own.

Do you think politicians and policy makers often sideline heart and circulatory disease as a key priority because such progress has been made in recent years?

Yes, the BHF is concerned that a lot of decision-makers think that heart and circulatory disease is a ticked box.

Although progress has certainly been made through the National Service Framework for Coronary Heart Disease – heart and circulatory disease is still the UK's biggest killer. It is responsible for approximately a third of all deaths in the UK.

There will also be many challenges in the coming decade; demographic changes, shifts in the burden of disease and a more stringent financial climate. There is still much to be done and that's why our prescription for the UK's heart health is calling for a renewed approach to tackling heart and circulatory disease in England to reduce incidence to one of the lowest in Western Europe.

How can people sign up to involve themselves in the lobby day?

MPs who want to come along and pledge their support can contact Gillian Watt on 020 7554 0154 or come to room W1 off Westminster Hall on February 3 between 2.00pm and 4.15pm.

Anyone who has been affected by heart and circulatory disease who would like to take part should register with Jemma Harford on 0207 554 0151.

Is there one key target or issue that you would like to see achieved or eradicated as a result of this lobby day?

The BHF's prescription for the UK's heart health outlines our calls for a renewed approach to tackling heart and circulatory disease in England. We want a groundswell of MPs committing to tackling heart and circulatory disease at the next general election and beyond, and committing to sharing our prescription with party leaders, telling them their general election manifestos must recognise the UK's biggest killer.

What should an MP do if they want to involve themselves with the work of the British Heart Foundation?

They can pledge their support to tackling heart and circulatory disease at the next general election and beyond by contacting our public affairs officer, Gillian Watt

Gillian can also advise on the many opportunities to get involved whether in Westminster or at a constituency level – as well as providing information or statistics for debates or parliamentary questions, details of BHF events, local programmes or even how to volunteer in our local BHF shops.