The Primary Care Cardiovascular Society (PCCS) is an organisation that supports primary care clinicians to deliver wide-ranging, evidence-based interventions aimed at preventing cardiovascular disease (CVD) as well as optimising care for people with established CVD. The organisation is made up of GPs, nurses and pharmacists, all of whom have an interest in improving cardiovascular outcomes.
The aims of the PCCS align very well with Public Health England’s CVD prevention strategy and the renewed focus on CVD laid out in the NHS Long Term Plan, with its key focus on the ABC of CVD – atrial fibrillation, blood pressure and cholesterol.
The stated aims of the PCCS are to represent primary care on issues relating to cardiovascular health at policy level, to promote best practice thorough education, training and service development, to support health care professionals to make the most of their roles, to facilitate and lead on research, and to influence commissioners. The best way to do this is to have as many grass roots clinicians involved as possible, and as general practice nurses (GPNs) deliver a great deal of CVD prevention and management, they are a key part of the society. Currently, nurses are underrepresented, however, and the Editor in Chief of Practice Nurse, Bev Bostock, who is a nurse representative with PCCS, is inviting Practice Nurse readers and their colleagues to explore the PCCS website and consider joining the Society. Membership is free and there is an annual conference held in London every year, which always evaluates extremely well.
So why join? Potential benefits include access to high quality education in CVD for health care professionals working in primary care, access to meetings with a strong clinical content and CPD credits, access to all areas of the PCCS website, including educational updates (there is limited access for non-members), the ability to influence how cardiovascular care is delivered at a local and national level, potential involvement in Cardiovascular Advisory Committees, and access to primary care research projects. If you interested, please go to https://pccsuk.org/2020/en/page/become-a-member to learn more.
Resources
Primary Care Cardiovascular Society https://pccsuk.org/pccsannualconference2020/en/page/home
NHS Long Term Plan – cardiovascular disease https://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/clinical-policy/cvd/
PHE Health Matters: Preventing CVD https://publichealthmatters.blog.gov.uk/2019/02/14/health-matters-preventing-cardiovascular-disease/
