Mary, registered at Reddish Family Practice GP surgery, had not responded to routine contact attempts for at least two years. Text messages went unanswered, with non-attendance at any cardiac clinic.

After receiving a grant from NW Hearts Charity to provide additional resources to engage with patients such as Mary, the clinical lead made direct phone contact with her two adult children, who explained that the patient had been experiencing increasing memory difficulties and anxiety, which had made attending the practice in person very difficult.

With this context, the practice was able to offer a more flexible, supported approach and Mary was able to receive a cardiac check-up and, additionally, the surgery is now supporting her with her cognitive and memory concerns.

Without the funding, Mary would very likely have remained disengaged from routine care, with both her cardiovascular risk and her emerging cognitive needs going unaddressed, had this project not prompted active, individualised outreach rather than standard automated contact attempts.