The Annual General Meeting of Take Heart was held in Littlewood Hall in Leeds General Infirmary on Monday evening 10th June 2014. The meeting started with Colin Pullan introducing the Hospital Trust Chief Executive Officer, Julian Hartley, who made a brief speech praising the work of Take Heart. He admired the way the trustees were dedicated to putting something back after the treatment some of them had received in the Yorkshire Heart Centre and was delighted that they had raised the magnificent sum of three million pounds in donations. Julian talked about the changes which have taken place in the hospital over the twenty five years Take Heart have been in existence and the improvements which the charity has made to the lives of patients and staff over that time. He talked about the trustees who were still around after all this time and the tireless work they had put in. The ‘jewel in the crown’ is the wonderful Roof Garden which is so beneficial to patients, staff and relatives. He said that he had talked to many patients who had all expressed appreciation of the benefits provided by Take Heart like the free TV, phone calls and internet. Julian also likened the new relatives’ rooms in Brotherton Wing to be the equivalent of a four star hotel. He pointed to the furnishings in the wards and the hi-tech equipment supplied by Take Heart and wished to say a big Thank You for everything which has been done. Thanking the CEO, Colin then formally approved the minutes of last year’s AGM. Geoff Wildridge approved them and Michael Sowden seconded. New trustees were introduced and all trustees who were coming up for re-election were approved. Colin then went on to give his Chairman’s Report. He said:“It is with great deal of pride that I report on our Charity’s past year. Our 25 th year of operation of giving wonderful support in so many ways to all our patients who have had heart related problems. We have tried to ensure that the relatives and friends of patients have been able to use some of the facilities we provided at what for many has been a very stressful time . As I look back over the last 25 years it is incredible that the Take Heart Charity has made such enormous strides in becoming such a successful organisation. Mind you, all we have done is run the charity – and I thank all the trustees, past and present. However, the real thanks must go to our members and supporters. They have raised the money which makes all this possible. Sometimes I can’t believe how fortunate we have been in having so many people freely giving their skills and time in building the charity to its present professional standing. Who would have believed at the very beginning that the charity would achieve so much and in this year celebrating passing the amazing sum of over 3 Million Pounds – every penny of which has been used for the benefit of patients, relatives, friends and of course our amazing staff who work so hard and tirelessly to try to ensure a happy outcome for so many. Over the years I, along with so many thousands of others, have benefitted from the exceptional work of the Yorkshire Heart Centre and the great advancement of technology. We should all be so proud of this wonderful facility serving many thousands throughout Yorkshire. It is always sad when we receive donations after the loss of a loved one and the many letters that come along with the donations so many times praise the work of this centre. We really do appreciate that relatives are making it possible to continue our work. Many people have done the most amazing things over the years to raise funds on our behalf often in appreciation of their having been given a new lease of life. To all who, in whatever way, have supported our charity - a big thank you and we will always endeavour to ensure that your donations large or small are used to benefit all who pass through the doors of The Yorkshire Heart Centre. Many will wonder how we have raised such large sums through such a small beginning and all done entirely through so much time and effort given entirely voluntarily. To all, please give yourself a pat on the back and I hope that the charity will continue to thrive - - - and keep supporting The Yorkshire Heart Centre! I have not mentioned our many achievements over the year as these will be covered by our Treasurer. To close my report I would like to thank all who have supported me in my work and as always to my wife Mary who made it possible to continue my work as chairman. May the charity continue for another 25 years and more.” The Treasurer, Alec McLean then gave his report: “You may recall that last year I stated that we had spent £97,000 more than we took in and as a result we would have to tighten our belts for the coming year. Well it seems as if last year I might have tightened the belt a bit much, as this year we have spent £65,709 less than we took in. We have had a good year having had some £203,918 in donations from various areas. Apparently the recession is coming to an end but all things considered we haven`t fared too badly. We do have a lot of competition out there and I continue to be amazed at the generosity of our members, their families and friends. People have gone to great lengths to raise money for the charity. 5ks,10ks half marathons, full marathons coffee mornings, cycle rides and all kinds of different methods of raising money and I would like to thank them all for the efforts put in on our behalf. Our income for this financial year increased by £51,391.00 and yet it was up in some areas and down in others when compared with last year’s report. Our donations were up by some £47,032 to £127,488. The Sponsored walk was up by £1259 to £7,573.50 which is a step in the right direction. And our thanks go to all those who took part and those who so generously supported them. Our IMO donations were up by £5359 to £44,653. It’s very moving that many bereaved families give the collections made at funerals to us at what must be a very sad time for them. Donations from collecting boxes increased by £419 to £3,334 but small change boxes were down slightly by £241. Money for the trip was up slightly but that was because we were travelling further to Llandudno and the cost of hiring the coaches was a little extra. Our quiz night ran very efficiently by Paul, Vicky and helpers made a nice profit of £836.00. Christmas Draw takings were down by £1208 at £10469 yet still managed to make a nice profit of £8953.00. Our sales were down by £476.02 at £5830. The stall is “manned” every week on Fridays by (mainly) Maureen and Dorothy so a big thank you to them. All the other income areas remained about the same as last year. Now down to the nitty gritty, what did we spend it on? Well last years donations to the Yorkshire Heart Centre did fall by a massive £114,184 to £103,479 yet we still managed to pay Hospedia to enable patients to watch their bedside TV`s and make telephone calls – and surf the internet, all for free. We also had numerous information pamphlets printed, improvements on wards L16 shower room and store room, and on ward L20 staff room upgrade and day room with the relevant furniture for this upgrade. We purchased some large lockers and also a patient status board. We also purchased a bladder scanner and some new chairs for ward 18. We pay for rental of the fish tanks, christmas gifts for patients, and ensure that the wards have a good supply of tea, coffee etc. Our next biggest item was postage, this was £8,387.41 an increase of £2762.85 over the previous years. This was because the year before we had had a rebate on our postage due to an error in ticking recorded delivery instead of second class on the last post out of the financial year for 2011-2014. Don’t forget also that when we do a post out we send over 3,700 letters. Most of the other expenditure items were very little different from the previous year. For instance the coach costs were more because we went to the west coast, a slightly longer journey. Equipment for Take Heart – we replaced a computer, Stationery for Take Heart fluctuates year to year depending on the post outs and also the need to replace some of our stationery, i.e. : change gang boxes and letterheads etc. I would also like to point out that whilst our income rose this year trustees expenses reduced and they represent 1%. And once again this is down to the hard work our trustees put in with minimal expenses. Before I finally close I would like to thank people who have helped me over the past year. Although I have stated this before I will do so again – I haven`t named names as I could well forget somebody. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all the people who have raised money for the charity in so many different ways, be it a large or small amount. Their generosity is truly gratefully received and I hope you will agree it has been spent wisely by the charity. The account as of last Friday now stands at :- Current Account 1622.00 SIBA 127696.12 Total 129318.12 Jim McLenachan, consultant cardiologist took the rostrum and gave a talk on the last twenty five years of cardiology with a fascinating insight into the latest developments. Twenty five years ago, there were only 300 PCI procedures per annum, 600 cardiac surgical operations, PCI (Percutaneous coronary intervention performed to open blocked coronary arteries) for stable angina only, very early ICDs, no complex pacing, no cardiac MRI, no stress echo, no ablation procedures, no TAVI (transcatheter aortic valve implantation) Nowadays, there is better cardiac imaging, PCI for heart attack, ablation for arrhythmias, complex pacing / ICDs, and TAVI. Cardiac surgery is now given to older patients and higher risk patients with no increase in mortality. Jim went into detail with clear and concise video clips of catheter procedures. He received warm applause from the audience. (David O’Regan, Cardiac Surgeon, then gave a talk revolving around the deliverance of patient care. He started by saying what Take Heart did is exactly “what it says on the tin” – basically improving the environment for patients. He said that the face of cardiac surgery is changing into a ‘team sport’ and we need to take a hybrid approach to interventional as well as conventional surgery. When he started 13 years ago, patients over 80 were rarely offered surgery – now they form up to 10 per cent of our business. In fact, patients over 70 form around 75% of the business. The actual figures are available on the Trust website. David said that he would like to work with Take Heart for patients with stenting or surgery to help them decide how best to receive the service they require. He would like to know what patients would look for if they were designing the service. Since most of our patients now use smart phones, he would like to explore the possibility of designing an app for ‘Silver Surfers’ to manage their health care over their I- Phones – something which has already been proven ‘across the pond.’ He then spoke about some of the recent difficulties incurred by changes in ward structures and how Take Heart had helped to provide some of the niceties of care. However, he had discussed with Take Heart the fact that some of the things of necessity which we may be asked to provide should in fact be supplied by the Trust. David finished by thanking Take Heart for what they do and looked forward to work with us in the future in helping to design the care of patients. He was given enthusiastic applause. Jo Wood, General Manager of Cardiology and Respiratory Services concluded the meeting with a presentation of a number of photographs showing Take Heart over the 25 years of their existence. This was aimed at Colin Pullan, our chairman who is technically in his final year of the post having presided over the charity virtually since its inception. She spoke warmly about the sincere affection towards Colin by the staff of the Heart Centre and their gratitude for the work he has done. The pictures of some of the antics which Colin and the trustees have got up to in previous years provoked mild hysteria in the audience and they all gave rapturous applause for Colin. Bill Stevenson.