Upskilling primary care clinicians to lead transformation in CVD prevention

Our CVD Academy aims to reduce heart attacks and strokes by developing a network of people who have the enthusiasm and drive to lead change within Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) prevention.

The challenge

CVD accounts for a quarter of all deaths in the UK and is one of the leading causes of deaths in north, east and central London. It is a major driver of health inequalities: if you live in England’s most deprived areas, you are almost four times more likely to die prematurely from CVD than someone in the least deprived areas.

What we did

We identified an opportunity to build leadership skills in the primary care workforce to lead innovation in CVD. The 2022 Fuller Stocktake Review highlighted the need to develop leadership and improvement skills in primary care.  In response we set up the CVD Academy in 2023 to train GPs, nurses and pharmacists to lead local projects that prevent heart attacks and strokes.

The CVD Academy is a free, year-long programme taught through group coaching sessions, regular community of practice meetings and webinars.  It covers clinical and non-clinical topics with a practical focus on implementing transformational projects within primary care.  It aligns with the NHS 10 year plan target to prioritise prevention.

The UCLPartners CVD Academy, established in 2023, has been part funded by sponsorship from Boehringer Ingelheim, Novo Nordisk & Daiichi Sankyo UK Ltd.

Impact

“It’s their enthusiasm to just do better. Fantastic to see the multidisciplinary cohort of doctors, nurses and pharmacists as part of the CVD academy bringing to life their commitment to delivering for their patients and practice populations.”

Helen Williams
National Clinical Director for CVD Prevention

Since the first cohort in 2023 we have welcomed 39 primary care professionals to the Academy 26 of whom completed the full 12 month programme  directly impacting over 3800 patients   with their improvement projects.

Projects have included increasing statin therapy for those who are eligible, creating personalised care plans for people with long-term conditions, lipid management for secondary prevention, and improving education of patients at time of a cardiovascular event.