Preventing and treating people with heart disease is key to improving the health of Medway and is the topic of a conference next week.

Organised by Medway Primary Care Trust, the cardiovascular conference will focus on the healthcare needs of people in Medway suffering from chronic heart disease (CHD), diabetes and stroke.

Chairman of Medway PCT Eddie Anderson said: “At this conference will hope to raise awareness of these diseases, discuss prevention, look at how we’re doing in Medway and discuss what services our patients need and how best to meet these needs.”

Dr Allan McNaught, Head of the Health Development Department at the University of Greenwich, has helped organise the event.

Dr McNaught said: “This event will link in with the work we have been doing in Medway on black minority and ethnic healthcare over the past year.”

The keynote speaker is Ruaria O’Connor, the Director for Policy from the British Heart Foundation. Other speakers include Dr Alison Barnett, Director of Public health for Medway, Professor Elizabeth Meerabeau from the School of Health and Social Care at the University of Greenwich, and Vernon Hull from Medway Maritime NHS Foundation Trust.

The conference starts at 2pm on Wednesday, September 3 at the Pilkington Building, University of Greenwich Medway campus, Chatham.

The conference is flexible with attendees given the choice of attending the afternoon, evening or whole event. The afternoon starts at 2pm, the evening session at 6.30pm.

The evening event is designed specifically for GPs, nurses and allied health professionals. Topics include QOF targets; evidence for effectively managing patients, and care pathways.

If you would like to attend or would like more information please contact Wendy Kane on 07979 803876 or email wendyk@takeda.co.uk