Search for new head to lead heart charity

I would like to share the following press release with you.

Wessex Heartbeat the charity providing support to the Wessex Cardiac Centre (WCC) at the University of Southampton NHS Foundation Trust will be recruiting a new Chief Executive.

The current CEO D’Arcy Myers has been with the charity since 2008 and will be taking up a position as CEO for The Rainbow Centre in Fareham.

Wessex Heartbeat Chairman Jim Monro praised D’Arcy for his excellent work with the charity and said:-
“D’Arcy has led the charity through a period of change and development. Wessex Heartbeat has helped the WCC to become an international centre of excellence for cardiac care through our support of medical and educational grants. We have exciting plans for the future development of the charity and will be looking for a charismatic CEO to help us with our current appeal to raise £800,000 for a new ward for a Young Adult Cardiac Unit (YACU) to help young adults with life-long heart problems”.

The charity will also continue to fund various projects in support of heart patients and loved ones, including patient support groups for people living with specific heart conditions or treatments.

D’Arcy commented: “I am extremely proud of the charity, especially our work with Southampton Hospital’s cardiac rehabilitation team giving healthy heart health checks and personalised advice in the work place. Plus the invaluable support we give to families of patients through Heartbeat House where we offer a free home from home accommodation on the hospital site. I will be supporting the charity to make a smooth transition with a new Chief Executive.”

ENDS

Notes for Editors

For further information please contact: Dawn Morrison, PR & Marketing Officer, Wessex Heartbeat

Tel 02380 795217  E-mail dawn@heartbeat.org.uk

Wessex Heartbeat (WHB) was established in 1992 and is a registered charity providing support to the Wessex Cardiac Centre (WCC) at Southampton General Hospital, its patients and their loved ones. WHB has helped the WCC to become an International Centre of Excellence for Cardiac Care.

Wessex Heartbeat helps make a real difference to the care of the 20,000 patients treated at the Centre annually, including 1,000 babies and children born with congenital heart defects.

Patients treated at the Centre come from a wide region of southern England, including Dorset, Hampshire, Somerset, West Sussex, Wiltshire, the Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands.

Since the charity’s foundation Wessex Heartbeat has raised in excess of £13 million, funding numerous projects, including:

• A £1m refurbishment of the children’s ‘Ocean Ward’
• More than £2m worth of equipment for the WCC, including the revolutionary ‘Babypod’, which is used to safely and rapidly transport neonates and children less than 10kg to hospital.

Wessex Heartbeat continues to help patients, loved ones and medical staff in many ways:

• Funding revolutionary and specialist equipment
• Funding Heartbeat House, a home from home providing free of charge accommodation for patients relatives located just a few minutes walk from the hospital
• Running the Heartbeat Education Centre at the hospital, which has state-of-the-art technology and facilitates the training of medical staff
• Providing patient literature
• Offering on the spot health checks to employees at businesses and organisations, as part of our ‘Your Healthy Heart’ campaign
• Funding the refurbishment and maintenance of wards
• Sponsoring research projects
• Funding educational and training grants

Wessex Heartbeat does not receive any Government funding and is solely funded by the generosity of individuals and organisations, who contribute through voluntary donations, fundraising events, corporate support and legacies. Wessex Heartbeat is very thankful to all its supporters for their invaluable help, which is vital to ensure that everyone living with a heart condition receives the best possible support.

For more information about Wessex Heartbeat please call 02380 795217 or visit http://www.heartbeat.co.uk/
Wessex Heartbeat, PO Box 270, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, Hampshire, SO16 6GE

Registered Charity Number 1116510
Company Limited by Guarantee Number 5924982