Circulation Foundation Newsletter Spring 2024
16 September 2024
SPRING NEWSLETTER
Message from the Chair
Firstly, I would like to thank you all for continuing to actively support the Circulation Foundation. We are pleased to start 2024 in a positive position, excited about the year ahead. We continue work to support our 3 main aims:To support vital research into vascular disease, to support individuals living with vascular disease and to raise the awareness of the impact vascular disease has on our patients, their carers and the wider NHS.
We have had our first joint CF committee meeting since the confirmed partnership agreement with the Rouleaux Club, SVN and SVTGBI. The meeting had a renewed energy with wider participation from across the MDT, a patient’s relative, trainees, and other colleagues who wish to join as ambassadors. The meeting brought lots of new ideas and we will utilise the larger team to further develop the work and reach of the CF. We are so grateful for the participation of all colleagues and organisations in this.
We continue to work on the wholesale refresh of our website. This will create something more modern that we can all be proud to signpost patients, relatives, MDT colleagues, partner organisations, and corporate organisations to. In anticipation of the new website, we are well into the process of refreshing the current patient information leaflets and creating some new ones. Clearly this will be an excellent resource for all vascular units, but most importantly, our patients. The CF are extremely grateful to all colleagues who are giving their time to undertake this work.
With respect to our patient support activity, we know the self-directed exercise Infographic for Intermittent Claudication created in COVID, also relevant with a scattered provision of Supervised Exercise Programmes, is very valuable. We also know we serve an ethnically diverse population across our respective catchments. Therefore, to reduce health inequalities, this has being translated in to 15 different languages so we can support patients to self-care from a range of diverse backgrounds. They are already available as a free resource for you to use on our website Exercise for Intermittent Claudication | circulationfoundation.org.uk and we would also encourage you to share them with your primary care colleagues.
We are grateful that we have 11 runners in the London Marathon in April and will be advertising 5 places for the Great North Run soon. Thanks to the awesome individuals involved in the London Marathon, and do consider running for the CF in the Great North Run.
I will finish with some requests for all colleagues, which are:
• Please continue to help raise our awareness and profile.
• Please do follow us on our social media platforms if you engage with them.
• The amazing CF hoodies and T-shirts are available to purchase.
• If you, or someone you know, would be willing to participate and fundraise on behalf of the CF in our events (Ride London, Great North Run, Swim Serpentine, London Marathon and Big Vitality) please do approach us.
• We have created backgrounds for virtual meetings, so feel free to use them.
Enjoy the newsletter - all new ideas and suggestions always welcome at info@circulationfoundation.org.uk
Neeraj Bhasin
Consultant Vascular Surgeon and Chair of The Circulation Foundation
NEWS
All-Party Parliament Group (APPG) on Vascular and Venous Disease Parliamentary event
The Circulation Foundation were delighted to be invited to the All-Party Parliament Group (APPG) on Vascular and Venous Disease parliamentary event hosted by Jim Shannon MP, Chair of the VVAPPG on Tuesday 19th March 2024. The event gave ourselves, VVAPPG members, leaders and expects to discuss hidden challenges of vascular and venous disease across the therapeutic pathway with Parliamentarians.
The event gave us the opportunity to discuss the increasing public awareness and prevention of vascular and venous diseases, Increasing public awareness and prevention of vascular and venous disease and Advocate for community care and self-management. This was a fantastic opportunity for The Circulation Foundation to engage other societies, patients and clinicians, whilst raising awareness of the Circulation Foundation.
We were delighted to share our new infographics on Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm, Peripheral Arterial Disease and Varicose Veins and Venous Leg Ulcers, that will be available to download shortly via our website.
Meet the Committee
Sean Pymer, Academic Clinical Exercise Physiologist, Academic Vascular Surgical Unit, Hull
How long you have been on the Circulation Foundation committee?
I have been a member of the committee since August 2023, but have been involved with the Circulation Foundation since our first fundraising event in July 2018.
Why did you joined the committee?
I joined the committee because I want to help drive the Circulation Foundation forward by raising awareness. Vascular disease has a substantial impact on our patients and the work The Circulation Foundation does is vital. I'm delighted to play a very small part in that.
What are you looking forward to within the Circulation Foundation and the Vascular Society?
In the immediate future I am looking forward to the update of the website and available materials and seeing what patients think! More generally, I am looking forward to working with an excellent and growing committee.
What are your expectations of what you want from being on the committee?
Hopefully getting involved in more events, raising lots of money and increasing the profile of the Circulation Foundation.
Fun fact about yourself
I once visited 6 Central American countries over 6 weeks - it was an amazing experience. Guatemala is a beautiful country that I think everyone should visit!
Podcast
2023 saw the launch of the Circulation Foundation's very first podcast and interview which are available on our website and well worth a watch.
They obviously could not have happened without Gill Holman – one of our patients, Laura Shields and Sean Pymer – our inspirational fundraisers, Ellie Atkins and Penny Birmpili – our researchers, and Jim Shannon MP, as mentioned above. We are also grateful to Jai Singh, a journalism student at Salford University, who recorded, edited and produced the podcasts for us free of charge.
We are excited to be in the works on creating our next Circulation Foundation Podcast which will be based around our amazing CF Explorers, we can't wait to share this with you.
Update on #TheBodyWalk
A huge thank you to everyone who continues to support and take part in #TheBodyWalk raising awareness throughout September for Vascular Awareness Month.
The Body Walk has been huge success, raising over £23,774, and raising our total coverage since the start of the initiative to 40,764 miles!
Massive well done to everyone who has taken part, and we wouldn't be over halfway around the circulatory system without your amazing efforts. We look forward to seeing all of your amazing efforts this September.
FUNDRAISING AND EVENTS
Fundraising
Thank you so much to those who took part in events in 2023 to support us!
We would not want to inadvertently miss anyone who have pushed themselves and achieved great personal feats to complete the Great North Run, London Marathon, and RideLondon running/cycling to raise funds for the CF. We cannot express how grateful we are, and how awesome you are!! That also includes Paul Bradbury, who completed the Newark Castle 100 bike ride in memory of his Father in Law, and raised £306 in 2023.
We are very grateful for our runners for this year’s London Marathon, we cannot wait to hear how you get on and see your photos! Keep an eye out for further fundraising events this year, we will keep you posted!
GET INVOLVED
Even though vascular disease is so widely prevalent in our society, it is vastly underfunded in the field of medical research. The Circulation Foundation is working to change that by embarking on a focused programme of research which funds both established vascular research teams and young medical scientists and surgeons, so we can help build a stronger vascular research community in the UK.
Our supporters join us for many reasons. Some have seen how vascular disease can affect the lives of a loved one. Others have suffered themselves. Our corporate sponsors want to connect with medical professionals and promote positive health messages.
But everyone who offers their generous support does so in the knowledge that their contribution makes a big difference.
It does not have to cost anything, for example if you have a site of your own then it would be great if you could display one of our web banners and link it to us here. It is very simple to do and helps spread the word. You could also become a Circulation Foundation Ambassador helping to raise awareness and imperative funding. A network of vascular professionals and representatives proving a patient voice will help us to achieve these goals.
Ideas to get involved
There are unlimited ways to fundraise, the more creative the better!
Let us know your plans and your stories so we can share them on social media and in Newsletter.
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