Aortic Dissection Awareness Day UK 2020 - COVID Virtual Event
Since COVID-19 dominated the news, especially in healthcare, for much of 2020, it would be easy to forget that another lethal disease, Aortic Dissection, remained a national patient safety issue in the UK & Ireland, killing more people each year than road traffic accidents.
Event Details
On September 19th 2020 – Global Aortic Dissection Awareness Day – the UK & Ireland joined with the worldwide AD patient movement to once again raise awareness of this issue and of the urgent need to improve diagnosis, treatment and outcomes for Aortic Dissection patients.
We are delighted that the UK Government’s Secretary of State for Health, Matt Hancock, agrees with us that not enough is being done about Aortic Dissection and that he chose in 2019 to release a short video about this for AD Awareness Day UK in 2019, which you can watch here. Matt’s powerful words remained as true in September 2020 as they were a year before, in part because COVID-19 temporarily took away the ability of Government and the NHS to focus on the national issue of Aortic Dissection.
On 19th September 2020, we again called for a return to the urgent task of saving the lives of Aortic Dissection patients in the UK & Ireland, many of whom are currently dying unnecessarily, This is because they do not receive prompt diagnosis and the right specialist care. We have all seen during the COVID pandemic what the NHS can do, in very short order, when it focuses its resources on a life-threatening disease and frankly, we want some of that!
AD Awareness Day UK 2020 was, of necessity, a virtual celebration. We hope that you find the online content that we put together interesting, inspiring and a catalyst for change.
Pre-COVID-19, we had planned to hold our flagship national event for 2020 at the Bristol Cricket Ground, where our hosts would have been the wonderful NHS professionals of the Bristol Aortic Service. We awarded the honour of hosting AD Awareness Day UK 2020 to them because of their pioneering work improving the diagnosis and treatment of Aortic Dissection, which is an example to the nation. Bristol deserves this award in 2021, so we have rolled-it forward and hope that you will join us for AD Awareness Day UK in Bristol on Thursday 16th September 2021. Save the date now!
In the meantime, please celebrate every AD Awareness Day with us and use these online resources to help us raise awareness and change the Aortic Dissection landscape for the better.
Gareth Owens & Catherine Fowler
Chair & former Vice-Chair
Aortic Dissection Awareness UK & Ireland
Event Summary
Steve Curry and Dr. John Cronin talk about the challenges of diagnosing a life-threatening Aortic Dissection, live on Ireland AM TV during AD Awareness Week in September 2020.
The Cardiac COVID Study by St Bartholomew’s Hospital - Professor Julie Sanders, Ms Tootie Bueser, Cardiac Surgery patient Edward Hyde and Prof Aung Oo.
What happened since ADADUK19 in Leicester? An update on our collaborative AD Screening Research programme started at ADAD2019 with the University of Leicester, by Dr Riccardo Abbasciano.
The Aortic Dissection Awareness UK & Ireland 2020 annual In Memoriam of those we lost to Aortic Dissection, with Gareth Owens.
Diagnosing Aortic Dissection in the Emergency Setting - Dr Emma Redfern and Professor Mark Callaway (from ADADUK18).
A short video from Matt Hancock MP, for Aortic Dissection Awareness Day, reiterating the need for awareness, early detection and treatment and including a pledge on government research funding.
“Today is a Good Day” - A film on the birth and progress of Aortic Dissection Awareness UK & Ireland, which won the 2020 Rare Disease Film Festival UK People’s Choice Award.
Your invitation to AD Awareness Day UK 2021 in Bristol by Dr. Emma Redfern and Professor Mark Callaway of the Bristol Aortic Service.
