Publish date: 20 August 2021
Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS FT has appointed Julie Harris, a specialist nurse with over 25 years’ experience to support patients who have had heart attacks who could go on to suffer heart failure, a common progressive condition which can be distressing, disabling and life-limiting.
Julie joins the Trust from Wythenshawe Hospital, where she trained in this very specialised form of nursing after being chosen as one of only 76 nurses to qualify for a Big Lottery Fund grant.
“I’ve always had an interest in cardiac support, and it became very personal when my mum passed away in 2003 from heart failure and I had a heart attack myself three years ago. I wanted to come to Tameside and Glossop. For me it’s a wonderful opportunity to share my skills and create a service that will encourage patients to get optimum treatment and allow me to give advice and support”, Julie explains.
Heart failure affects an estimated 900,000 people in the UK. With one million inpatient bed days are attributable to heart failure in the UK annually. It’s where the heart is unable to pump blood around the body properly and needs treatment to help it work. Common causes include heart disease and high blood pressure.
Married with two grown up children and one grandchild, she lives in Urmston and starts her day with 15 minutes of yoga to “get me in the right frame of mind.” And her other must have is ten minutes of meditation every day. She says, “Life is all about balance and moderation and I make sure I take as many long walks as I can with my two dogs. My ambition for my new role is to work with the other cardiac rehabilitation nurses to create a great service for the people of the Borough.”
Julie says she never imagined she’d become a heart patient herself. But in June 2018 she had a heart attack at the airport, on her way to the Spanish resort of San Sebastián. Her attack was caused by a rare condition called spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD), where some of the layers of a heart artery wall get torn apart, causing the heart’s blood supply to become blocked.
“The fact that it all happened out of the blue had a big impact on me,” says Julie. “There’s no time to adjust. You’ve got to just get on with it. Connecting with others was key to my emotional recovery. It was really useful for me to know there were other people with the same condition. Because of this I’m a member of the European Society of Cardiology’s patient forum and I’m keen to raise awareness of SCAD. Since my heart issue I feel very positive about the future and feel lucky that I have made a complete recovery and now have the opportunity through my work with the ESC patient forum to raise awareness not only around SCAD but also around the burden of cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of death in women in the UK and worldwide.”
Trust Chief Executive Karen James says she’s delighted to welcome someone with Julie’s depth of experience to the specialist nursing team. She says: “Managing heart failure is challenging as patients are often from an older age group and may require social support. Many older people with heart failure, also have other long-term conditions, requiring different medications. This means they may receive treatment from several different health professionals, which can result in fragmented care. Julie will be vital in ensuring a joined-up approach to give our patients the best possible service.”
