DOCTORS in Bradford have been praised as being among the best in the country for saving lives and preventing strokes in people with a common heart disorder.

Their efforts were highlighted in a report by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry looking at the dangers of atrial fibrillation.

The report was received at the House of Commons by Huddersfield MP Barry Sheerman, who is chairman of the Atrial Fibrillation All Party Group.

Called One year on – why are patients still having unnecessary AF-related strokes?, the report shows some 7,000 strokes and 2,000 deaths could be avoided each year in the UK with effective management of the condition.

People with AF are five times more likely to suffer a stroke than those without the condition but to stop clots forming in their hearts, blood thinning medication can be given such as warfarin or a newer class of drugs called Novel Oral Anticoagulants (NOACs).

Family doctors in Bradford City and Bradford Districts Clinical Commissioning Groups together with public health chiefs at Bradford Council became concerned that AF patients were slipping off radar so came up with a scheme to get them detected and protected.

A total of 64 out of 80 GP practices in those CCG areas volunteered to get involved in the patient-checking scheme and over 18 months the number of patients on the practice databases being prescribed warfarin increased from 2,274 to 2,978 – an increase of 714 patients and the increase was highest in those patients with the highest risk of stroke. The project managers calculated the scale of improvement would prevent 29 strokes and 17 deaths.

One of the project leaders Dr Matt Fay, a GP at Westcliffe Medical Practice, Shipley, said: “We have developed a simple and effective model for quality improvement in primary care that primary care really engages with. There has been consistently positive feedback from practices and those that didn’t initially participate are now requesting to do so.”

Dr Greg Fell, the council's consultant in public health, who was another leader on the project, said it was straightforward to implement.

"This innovation is not rocket science but the result of hard work and sustained implementation of evidence based clinical behaviour change strategies,” he said.