Town set to show heart in fight against cardiovascular disease

The charity wants to establish 50 Heart Towns across the country in a bid to tackle heart disease, and Rotherham – where cardiovascular disease causes 29.4 per cent of all male deaths and 28.9 per cent of all female deaths – has been identified as one of its target towns.

If the plans are agreed by Rotherham Council’s cabinet committee on Wednesday, the scheme would be launched next month, when Rotherham would become the first Heart Town in South Yorkshire.

In a report set to go before Wednesday’s meeting, council officers say that becoming a Heart Town will “put an increased focus on cardiovascular disease, increasing awareness of risk factors and improving health and wellbeing of the community.”

The report goes on: “The initiative aims to bring communities together through local fundraising and volunteering as well as raising awareness of heart disease and offering residents a range of support services including schools initiatives, workplace health and lifestyle information resources.”

Although early death rates from heart disease are currently falling, Rotherham’s figures are still higher than the England average and the town is also below average on other factors that contribute to ill health, such as obesity and smoking rates.

If the scheme goes ahead, Heart Town activities in Rotherham would be organised by a British Heart Foundation team of staff and volunteers.

Heart Town status would last for five years and events could be organised in conjunction with existing organisations such as Rotherham’s smoking cessation service and DC Leisure, which runs weight-loss courses.

Activities under the Heart Town banner would include a “One Day” fundraising campaign in support of the British Heart Foundation’s “Mending Broken Hearts” appeal.

The charity’s national ambassador for Mending Broken Hearts, Jo Ward, lives in Kiveton Park and the British Heart Foundation is said to already have a “significant presence” in Rotherham.

Other Heart Town activities would include holding a Heart Town fun run and supporting the British Heart Foundation’s work in schools and businesses.

Becoming a Heart Town shouldn’t incur costs for the council, according to the officers’ report.

It says: “There should be no additional funding required to become a Heart Town.

“If the branding were to be used on signage there would be cost implications related to production of the new signs, but the British Heart Foundation may be able to broker sponsorship for this through their corporate fundraising contacts.

“There would be some officer time required to ensure the partnership approach is implemented successfully.”

Regarding the potential problems of going ahead with the scheme, the report adds: “There may be potential local reputational risk if Rotherham Council is seen to be working with a major national charity and not supporting local voluntary organisations with the same aims.

“Other Heart Towns appear to have minimised this through having the One Day fundraising events splitting the sponsorship between British Heart Foundation and local charities. This risk, however, is extremely small.”

In Yorkshire, the only existing Heart Town is Hull. Other Heart Towns include Andover, Bath, Dartford, Hartlepool, Northampton, Gloucester and Tunbridge Wells.

Other councils to have signed up to the scheme, and which will launch their Heart Town status soon, include Bristol, Rochdale, Derby, Watford and Torbay.

Wednesday’s cabinet meeting begins at 10.30am at Rotherham Town Hall.