How you can influence policy in the new Department of Health and join us in calling for a public awareness campaign on cholesterol.

MPs are always interested in what their constituents think. With a new Health Team in place at Westminster, there is a great opportunity for your charity to help shape the health policy. On this page you will find an introduction to the new Health Team at Westminster.

H·E·A·R·T UK believes that a national public awareness campaign on cholesterol could be hugely influential in improving heart health across the UK. We feel that the Government should promote greater awareness of the dangers of high cholesterol levels and inform the public about healthy diet and lifestyle options that can help avoid heart disease and stroke. Efforts to reduce the UK’s cholesterol levels have not been addressed with the same vigour as smoking or high blood pressure.

H·E·A·R·T UK welcomes the Food Standards Agency planned activity about fats in the diet, following on from their successful salt campaign. This could do a great deal to help improve UK diets and reduce heart disease. With your help, we can encourage the political support to ensure a truly effective national awareness programme is put in place to help people make healthy food choices and get active. Such a campaign will help everyone to reduce their cholesterol levels and this will benefit those at risk of heart disease and stroke who remain unaware, including those with undiagnosed FH.

We are calling on all our H·E·A·R·T UK members to promote the need for greater public awareness about the risks of cholesterol to their constituency MP. Please encourage your local MP to raise this issue with the Minister for Public Health, Dawn Primarolo. Ministers will always respond promptly to a letter from a fellow MP, so approaching Dawn Primarolo through your constituency MP is an effective way of getting your message across. Anybody can ask their local MP to raise an issue on their behalf – it doesn’t matter whether or not you voted for them at the last election or whether you are a party member.

It’s simple to write to or email your MP via the House of Commons website. To find out who your MP is, go to www.locata.org/commons and type in your postcode to reveal their name and contact details. You can then email them straight from the website. If you don’t have access to the internet, you can find out who your local MP is by contacting the House of Commons Information office on 020 7219 4272. You can also write to MPs by name at the following address: House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA.

A new health team in Government
After possibly the most long-awaited change of premiership in memory, Gordon Brown is finally ensconced at No 10. The Prime Minister has moved two of his most trusted colleagues into the health team – Dawn Primarolo, who served under him as a Minister in the Treasury for ten years, and Ann Keen, who was his political private secretary for two years - confirming that health is a key priority.

The new health ministers most relevant to heart health are Alan Johnson, Ann Keen, Dawn Primarolo, and Ben Bradshaw. H·E·A·R·T UK staff met with Ann Keen, Dawn Primarolo and Ben Bradshaw at the Party Political Conferences during September and October - the introductions are made and now we need your help to ensure our messages are heard.

There are also two interesting clinical appointment to the DH team. Professor Sir Ara Darzi, a leading light in minimally invasive surgery, is now Lord Darzi and has been made a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health. He is responsible for undertaking a comprehensive review of the NHS. Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, world renowned cardiothoracic surgeon, has been appointed as the new NHS Medical Director. The future of the National Clinical Directors, including heart ‘tsar’ Dr Roger Boyle, will be in his hands.

Rt Hon Alan Johnson MP
Johnson is very different from his predecessor. A former postman, Alan Johnson worked his way up to be to General Secretary of his union and was the first union leader to become a Cabinet Minister. DH officials say he is indifferent to the detail of the NHS reforms and, perhaps unsurprisingly given his background, the areas that most interest and motivate him are inequalities and social care.

Rt Hon Dawn Primarolo MP
Dawn Primarolo is the Minister in charge of public health. Treasury officials have called her pragmatic, hard working and able to grasp complicated briefs. On only her second day in office she supported Asda’s new food labeling system in an effort to break the deadlock in this contentious area.

Ann Keen MP
Ann Keen’s portfolio includes responsibility for cardiac care. A former nurse, Ann Keen has served on the Health Select Committee and as PPS to former Health Secretary Frank Dobson as well as to Gordon Brown as Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Ben Bradshaw MP
A Minister of State for the NHS, Ben Bradshaw’s remit includes responsibility for the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QoF). This issue is pivotal in influencing GP’s priorities.


There are some key things to remember when writing to your MP:

• Always tell them that you are a constituent. MPs rarely have capacity to act on behalf of other constituencies
• Say why it is you are writing and be clear about what it is you would like them to do: i.e. you would like them to write to the Minister for Public Health to request that the Government does more to raise public awareness about cholesterol. You may like to highlight the fact that for most people, changes in diet and lifestyle could help to reduce their cholesterol levels to safe limits. H·E·A·R·T UK would be happy to provide you with a template letter if you would find this helpful - please call Cathy Ratcliffe, Communications Manager, on 01628 777 046.
• Explain why this issue is important to you. It’s always best to speak from your own experience. Are you a patient with high cholesterol? Is your family affected by inherited high cholesterol? Are you a clinical expert in the field? Telling your own story will help to bring the issue alive for your MP
• Do offer to speak to your MP if he or she would like further information
• And do let us know if you get a response! We’d be grateful if you could email Cathy at cr@heartuk.org.uk or call on 01628 777 046 to let us know what your MP said.

Your charity needs you!

Together, let’s keep heart heath at the top of the political agenda!

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