If you’re looking for support with your or a patient’s chest, heart, stroke and Long COVID conditions, an advice line staffed by registered healthcare professionals is waiting to help.

Did you know that one in five people in Scotland are living with chest, heart, stroke conditions and Long Covid?

Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland (CHSS) is the country’s largest charity working to provide supported self-management and community recovery for people living with these conditions and aims to reach 175,000 people per year by 2028.

Together, we can make a difference.

In 2023, Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland surveyed almost 2,000 people living with its conditions to gain insight into their experiences. The charity published it’s 1 in 5 Report to share the results of the survey.  A key finding from the report was that 47% of people with chest, heart and stroke conditions and Long Covid said there was support they needed but couldn’t access.

Since then, Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland has worked to address this need. The charity offers a flexible package of support, tailored to the needs of each service user. Healthcare professionals can refer directly or signpost people to self refer into CHSS’ Community Healthcare Support Services which provide a range of supported self management and community recovery services including:

• Personalised professional support from acute event or diagnosis through to long-term management of an individual’s condition
• One-to-one and group support in the community from CHSS Stroke Nurses and Community Support team.
• 6-week supported self management programme
• A range of activities to help individuals stay physically active and live a healthier life.
• Tailored health information and education resources
• CHSS Kindness Service, which provides social contact and connection with others
• Confidential support and advice from the CHSS Advice Line.

Clinical Case Management

Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland’s 1 in 5 Report also highlighted that 78% of respondents felt that they had a key role to play in managing their condition with support from health professionals. The charity is committed to working in partnership with healthcare professionals to deliver this support.

The CHSS Advice Line Clinical team is a team of registered healthcare professionals that offer telephone support to people living with chest, heart and stroke conditions. Support can range from a one-time call to up to 12 weeks of ongoing support which is focused on the principles of self-management. Support can include medication guidance, pacing, emotional support, help to understand the condition and secondary prevention.

CHSS support in action

Hannah Fleming is 21 and lives in Edinburgh where she is a newly qualified nurse at the city’s Sick Kids Hospital. She contracted COVID-19 in 2021 while a student, then was diagnosed with Long Covid. Thanks to support from the Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland Advice Line, Hannah was able to finish her studies and graduate in 2024.

Struggling to manage her symptoms with the demands of coursework and regular nursing placements in hospital, Hannah felt overwhelmed. After speaking with her GP, she was put in touch with Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland’s Advice Line and everything changed.

Today, Hannah has graduated and now works as a nurse at Edinburgh’s Sick Kids Hospital, and she credits the help and support she received from Sharon on the Advice Line for getting her over the finishing line.

She said: “When I started speaking to Sharon, it was the best thing to happen to me. She had so much understanding and so much advice for me. I don’t think I could have got through those months without her.

“It was difficult to study and work, I was so unwell. But information and advice from Sharon helped me go on and do my final placement so I was able to finish my degree.

“The other great thing was that my mum was always with me when I was speaking to Sharon, so the family were part of this support, too.”

 

If you are a healthcare professional looking to find out more about how Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland can support you and your patients, get in touch at adviceline@chss.org.uk or refer directly via our Referral Form

 

This article is written as part of a promotional agreement between Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland and Healthcare News Scotland.