14 March 2007
Tony Blair welcomed frontline NHS staff to Number 10, who have helped prevent more than 100,000 deaths from coronary heart disease in the last decade.
Patients who have been treated for serious heart conditions and made a full recovery also spoke to the PM about the new processes and systems which have saved the lives of so many people.
He heard how patients were now treated at the scene of their attack and stabilised before being taken to specialist centres.
The seminar looked at the need to focus on prevention and post operative care closer to patients’ homes.
The PM highlighted the record investment of more than £700m in new buildings, equipment and technology over the last 10 years. He said:
"The debate about the NHS has gone from one about its very survival as an institution to one about the quality of care which it delivers. Our progress in cutting deaths from heart disease illustrates this transition perfectly. This has been achieved through a combination of radical reforms and historic investment in the NHS.
"We seldom have the chance to hear directly from the people who have benefited from the work of the NHS. Through the hard work of people like the staff I am meeting today we have prevented more than 100,000 deaths. That’s more than 100,000 families who have avoided a bereavement.
"When politicians start their careers they hope to change the lives of the people they represent, in this government we have been able to do just that. Hearing the stories of the people who I am meeting today is, quite literally, one of the reasons why I and many other ministers came into politics."
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