The Sound Doctor, the UK’s leading provider of film and audio content about health conditions, is offering Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) a ground-breaking film series to improve patient self-management of heart failure.

The Sound Doctor’s 40 new films – covering definitions, symptoms, diagnosis, medicines, prevention, related conditions, mental health, rehabilitation and more – are designed to deliver an incredibly innovative, money-saving resource across the country.

Available for £5,000 in an introductory offer, the films comprise expertise from leading medical specialists, The British Heart Foundation and patients.

Dr James Kingsland OBE, said: “Patient involvement in their own care, especially for long-term conditions, is fundamental. When patients improve self-care, they enjoy a better quality of life and reduce the number of GP and hospital visits they need to make.”

Given that heart failure affects around 900,000 Britons, with only strokes costing the NHS more to treat, the argument for adopting new methods of treatment is strong. Death rates for the condition haven’t improved since the 1990s.*

Dr Mike Knapton, GP and Associate Medical Director at The British Heart Foundation, says: “Usually, patients will be spending 10-15 minutes with a doctor every three months. Most of the time, they’re going to be looking after their condition themselves. And therefore, part of the treatment, in my view, is giving them enough information like facts and where to go for help if they’re in trouble. I think the education and providing information to patients is as important as the drug treatment, in terms of managing it.”

The Sound Doctor was founded by senior broadcasting professionals, Dominic Arkwright and Rosie Runciman. Launching the new films, Rosie said: “It’s so important for patients to have the best possible information when they are asked to manage a long-term condition. With heart failure, there is so much that people can do at home to help themselves IF they have the right tools. Our films have the range and depth and ‘watchability’ to make them a really effective self-management tool’.

To find out more, or to buy access to any of The Sound Doctor’s films, contactinfo@thesounddoctor.org or call +44 (0)1285 850 887.

The Sound Doctor’s library of more than 280 films covers six key areas - COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), diabetes, back pain, dementia, weight management surgery and now, heart failure.  

The Sound Doctor’s six main aims are to:

•         reduce the number of avoidable admissions (and readmissions) to hospital
•         reduce the need for face-to-face contact with consultants, physicians, nurses, physiotherapists and others - and to improve the quality of meetings that do take place
•         address co-morbidities by creating a multi-condition library
•         improve medicines management and compliance with medications
•         improve the quality of care for patients (and patient experience of their care)
•         help people get the most out of life through effective self-management

The Sound Doctor’s films are endorsed by leading charities, adhere to NICE (The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) guidelines, and crucially, the films work. Evaluations have consistently shown very high levels of effectiveness.

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