Vascular Care Is Falling Behind: Our Plan to Fix It
Topic : UK Environment, News and Press Type : Report
Vascular disease remains one of the leading causes of preventable disability and premature death in the UK. Yet, despite advances in other areas of cardiovascular care, outcomes in this space continue to lag behind. Too many patients experience delayed diagnosis, inconsistent pathways, and unequal access to specialist care, leading to avoidable harm, including thousands of preventable amputations each year.
This is a challenge we cannot ignore. And so, working through ABHI’s Vascular Group, and in close collaboration with the Vascular and Venous All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) and the Royal College of Podiatry, we have taken a deliberately practical approach to addressing this issue.
Together with clinical leadership, including Deputy National Medical Director for Secondary Care, Professor Stella Vig, we have focused on a simple but critical question: what does the system need to improve outcomes, and how do we deliver that within existing structures?
The result is the White Paper: Making the Case for Reform in the Vascular Sector. It sets out clear, evidence-based actions, from implementing a National “Foot Attack” Pathway, to establishing community-based foot protection services, and reforming commissioning to reward outcomes, the focus is firmly on doing what works, and doing it consistently across the system.
We have shared this work with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and are now working with partners across the system to support delivery. This is not the end of the work. ABHI will continue to collaborate closely with the APPG, the Royal College of Podiatry, NHS England, and partners across the sector to take forward the next phase. A key priority will be the development of a commissioning framework that supports effective, consistent service delivery across the country, one that incentivises prevention, earlier intervention, and improved patient outcomes.
“Through ABHI’s Vascular Group, we have brought together industry, clinicians and policymakers to deliver practical solutions in a part of the system that has been under-served for too long. We will continue to use this platform to drive engagement and progress throughout the year, showing what can be achieved when the sector aligns behind a shared goal.”
Denise Bryceland, UK Strategic Partnership Manager, Terumo Aortic, & Chair, ABHI Vascular