Have a heart this Christmas
21st November 2024
Being prepared for serious and unexpected incidents was a way of life for George Cook as he rose through the ranks and became chief officer with the Essex Police Special Constabulary.
During his 47 years of distinguished service, he attended many incidents ranging from a highjacked aircraft at Stansted Airport, murders and serious and fatal road accidents, but suffering a heart attack in June was something he was not expecting.
George, 79, who lives in Southend, where he was born and bred, was so delighted with the treatment he received that he has pledged his support for the Essex Heart Fund, to help other patients in the county.
“My heart attack, which happened at home, was completely unexpected,” said George. “Although I have had other health issues, I didn’t have any history of heart problems. I called an ambulance when I realised that what I was experiencing was more than just indigestion.
“Following excellent treatment from the ambulance service I was taken on ‘blues and twos’ to Basildon Hospital’s heart unit. I was amazed by the speed with which I was assessed and treated.
“I was lucky that a major artery was not involved, but it was still a heart attack, which was treated by the insertion of a balloon. From arrival at the heart unit to being back on the ward after successful treatment, was approximately three hours and I was able to go home two days later.
“My attitude is that you have to get on with life and I am doing my best to stay fit and active, with an exercise regime every day, including a two-to-three-mile walk.
“The treatment I had from Dr Thomas Keeble and his team at the heart unit at Basildon Hospital was world class, which is why I am supporting the Essex Heart Fund. I want the people of Essex to be more aware of the fund and how it can help heart patients and their families.”
George combined a career in merchant banking, shipping, charity work and the public sector at executive level, with the outstanding service he gave to the Special Constabulary in Essex.
“Having a full-time paid job and also a demanding role within the Special Constabulary often meant that my social life suffered,” he said.
“I was fortunate to have understanding girlfriends and to have employers who allowed me time off to carry out police work. When I reached the age of 60 in 2005, I decided to take early retirement from my paid job to devote my time to the increasing demands of directing the Special Constabulary in Essex, whose numbers at that time were approaching 600. I also founded the Association of Special Constabulary Chief Officers and in the last two years of my service I spent the majority of my time on national issues.”
George was made an MBE in 2002 for services to the police and charity. He now wants to spread the word about the Essex Heart Fund and, as well as giving his personal support to the cause, says he is willing to give talks to local groups about his experience following his heart attack.
The Essex Heart Fund, which is managed by the independent charitable trust, Essex Community Foundation, was launched in 2020 by renowned consultant cardiologists, Dr Gerald Clesham and Dr Thomas Keeble, along with charity specialist Fred Heddell.
Dr Clesham and Dr Keeble both work at hospitals in Essex, including Basildon Hospital and Fred has
wide experience of the charity sector in the county.
They developed the idea for a new charity in Essex with the aim of meeting the needs of Essex heart patients and their families and bringing major improvements to their lives.
Dr Clesham said: “Heart conditions are still the commonest causes of premature death and are a major cause of disability. Our cardiac services here in Essex serve a population of about 1.8 million people and we are fortunate to have the internationally-recognised Essex Cardiothoracic Centre in Basildon, along with some great work going on in our other hospitals the county.
“Money donated to the Essex Heart Fund is spent solely in the county, on community services and support groups for patients and their families, the development of new hospital-based clinical services and to support local cardiovascular education and research.”
The Fund has already awarded grants totalling nearly £15,000. The latest grant of £3,580 has enabled the purchase of a bedside lung function assessment device to monitor a patient’s vital signs while they are undergoing a TAVI (Trans Catheter Aortic Valve Implantation) procedure. This is particularly helpful for patients experiencing aortic stenosis which is when the aortic value in the heart has become narrowed. This is usually caused by a build-up of calcium deposits on the valve over the course of a lifetime.
The assessment device will help improve efficiency and decrease waiting list times at the Cardiothoracic Centre in Basildon.
Other grants from the Essex Heart Fund include support for:
- the Tickers Cardiac Support Group to help provide cardiac fitness training for heart attack survivors at a venue in Chelmsford.
- a training defibrillator for Essex Community First Aid, whose volunteers give first aid cover at community events across Essex.
- the installation of defibrillators at Essex locations, in former telephone kiosks in Terling, Fairstead and Audley End and a bowling club in Thurrock.
- a heated defibrillator cabinet for the three villages of Little Yeldham, Tilbury-Juxta-Clare and Ovington Parish Council.
- the Saffron Walden Community Shed to buy a defibrillator for use by them and the local area.
- to provide counselling for individuals impacted by Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome (SADS) in Colchester, Southend-on-Sea and Basildon
Did you know?
- Heart conditions are still the commonest causes of premature death
- 7,500 heart procedures are performed every year at the Essex Cardiothoracic Centre
- In Essex someone dies of heart disease every two hours
- 20,000 people in Essex have heart failure
Support the Essex Heart Fund
It is easy to make a donation and lots of ways that you can give support:
- Donate online via essexheartfund.org.uk
- Include EHF in your will
- Choose EHF as your charity to support if you take part in a fundraising event or nominate EHF as your corporate charity of the year.
- Organise an event in aid of EHF
Main photo: The Seniors section at Burnham on Crouch golf Club was pleased to raise money for the Essex Heart Fund during the club’s centenary year with Bryan Lorimer, Seniors captain (left) and James Smyth, vice captain (right) holding the banner, alongside members of the club.
Local companies raise money to keep hearts beating in Essex
21st September 2022
Local companies, brought together by Chelmsford-based business, Real8 Group who are a chartered town planning, quantity surveying and project management company, will help keep hearts beating in Essex after raising over £10,000 for a local charity.
The event, which was held at Chelmsford Golf Club, raised money for the Essex Heart Fund (EHF), which is managed by the local independent charitable trust, Essex Community Foundation.
Paul Calder, Director at Real8 said, “We were overwhelmed by the support we received. All 18 holes of the course were sponsored, and 13 local companies entered teams. Everyone who contributed and took part was so generous which made for a great day, and the sun shone too which was a bonus.”
The winners of the day were Elwell Taylor in first place with 89 points, followed by Phoenix Compaction Systems and Horizon Construction.
Adam French from Horizon Construction won nearest the pin on the 9th hole and Paul Beresford just missed out on a ‘hole in one’ to be nearest the pin on the 18th.
Companies that supported the event included Academia, Applied Acoustic Design, A W Hardy, Beresfords, Colchester Environmental Ltd (CSH), Cunningtons LLP, Elwell Taylor, Green Recycling, Horizon Construction Group, Mersea Homes, Phoenix Compaction Systems, Precise Security, The Grange Group, RX Architects, Scene Architects and WellMax Scaffolding.
A key fundraising activity of the day was the ‘wheelie-bin challenge’ arranged by Green Recycling. Golfers were invited to test their skills and chip a golf ball into a recycling bin from a distance. Those that were successful secured a donation of £50 the EHF and £50 for themselves. The generosity of those involved on the day was evident as those who won, also donated their winnings to the charity.
Dr Gerald Clesham, a heart consultant at the Cardiothoracic Centre in Basildon and one of the founders of the Essex Heart Fund said, “Our huge thanks to Paul Calder and the Real8 team who did a lot of hard work to organise an excellent day. We are grateful to all the companies who sponsored holes and took part, raising an amazing amount of money.
“Events like this help us raise awareness of the Essex Heart Fund and the work that we do to improve the care of cardiac patients in Essex. We want to help develop the best treatments for our patients, support them after they have left hospital and fund research-based projects to invest in the future”.
To find out more about Essex Heart Fund, visit www.essexheartfund.org.uk. For information on how to donate, call 01245 355947.
Rural community gains lifesaving equipment
24th August 2022
A disused BT telephone kiosk on the rural outskirts of Saffron Walden will potentially save lives having been repurposed to hold a defibrillator, thanks to a grant from Essex Heart Fund as well as from others.
The request for a defibrillator, which can be accessed by any member of the public with a code, came from the Audley End Community Project as their nearest available one was “two miles away in either direction”.
Essex Heart Fund (EHF) is managed through the independent charitable trust, Essex Community Foundation (ECF), and was set up by two local cardiologists to provide better support for Essex patients and to fund lifesaving research.
Deb Manchip, who co-ordinated the installation of the defibrillator, said: “It was important that we found the funding needed to install a defibrillator in the village as the nearest one was two miles away in either direction, and it’s the same distance to the nearest doctor.
“It brings a lot of comfort for people locally to know that if someone has a cardiac arrest in the village, we now have the equipment that could save their life.”
She added, “We are hosting regular sessions to ensure that local people are trained in how to use the equipment and feel confident in doing so”.
Dr Gerald Clesham, cardiologist and co-founder of EHF, said: “If a defibrillator is used on someone suffering a sudden cardiac arrest within the first minute, the survival rate can be as high as 90%.
“It is vital that smaller, rural communities like Audley End have access to this life-saving equipment and know how to use it correctly, should tragedy strike.
“We are pleased to have funded this defibrillator and have a number of other local projects underway to help people with heart conditions in the community, and through research, which is all thanks to local people who donate to the Essex Heart Fund.”
For more information about EHF and to donate, visit essexheartfund.org.uk.
If you are in need of grant, please contact the ECF grants team on 01245 356018.
New charitable fund to keep hearts beating in Essex
16th October 2020
A new charitable fund with its heart firmly in Essex has been launched with a pledge to spend money raised in the county on cardiac services for the county.
Essex Heart Fund has been set up by two local consultant cardiologists, Dr Gerald Clesham and Dr Thomas Keeble, along with charity specialist Fred Heddell, to bring major improvements to the lives of Essex heart patients and their families.
The fund will be managed by the highly respected independent charitable trust, Essex Community Foundation. Money donated to the Essex Heart Fund will only be spent in Essex, on community services and support groups, on the development of new hospital-based clinical services and to support local cardiovascular education and research.
Dr Clesham, who works at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford and at the Essex Cardiothoracic Centre in Basildon, said: “We know that the people of Essex are already very generous in donating to heart charities, however, only a tiny fraction of the money donated to national heart charities finds its way back to Essex. Our aim in setting up the Essex Heart Fund is to raise charitable funds for cardiac care in Essex and ensure that the money is spent in Essex.
“The fund will help support groups for patients and their families in the community, will fund new clinical services and will promote cardiovascular research and teaching in local hospitals and the community.
“Heart conditions are still the commonest causes of premature death and are a major cause of disability. Cardiac services in Essex serve a population of about 1.8 million people and we are confident that channelling more money into local services will result in an improved outcome for heart patients.”
Dr Clesham, who has been a consultant in Essex for 20 years, is president of the Chelmsford and District Cardiac Support Group and sees at first-hand how patients can often feel unsupported after being discharged from hospital.
“Helping patients in the community is a very effective way of keeping people well and the Essex Heart Fund will help cardiac patient support groups develop in Essex,” he said.
The fund will also enable new clinical services to be launched in Essex hospitals and the aim is for the NHS to commission the services when they have proved to be a success.
Locally based cutting-edge research and teaching in hospitals and the community will be another major area supported by the fund.
The initiatives will not only benefit patients but will also help with recruitment and retention of hospital staff, said Dr Clesham.
He and Dr Keeble, who works at Southend Hospital and the Cardiothoracic Centre in Basildon, will be active in the Essex community to promote the fund and provide education about heart health.
“The Essex Heart Fund will have its own identity and we are pleased to be working with Essex Community Foundation as our umbrella organisation to provide all the relevant charity governance, which enables us to concentrate on the areas we want to support,” said Dr Clesham.
To find out more about the new Essex Heart Fund and to make a donation visit: www.essexheartfund.org.uk
DONATE TO ESSEX HEART FUND:
To donate £5, text ESSEXHF to 70970
To donate £10, text ESSEXHF to 70191