I’m sure everyone will be pleased to hear that the recent “pilot” Surrey ASG meeting was very successful. More than 30 guests were able to watch and listen to Dr Abhay Bajpai, an EP at St George’s Hospital and Stephanie Cruickshank, a Specialist Arrhythmia Nurse from Epsom and St Helier Hospitals, answer a variety of questions relating to all aspects of AF. Rosemary (RosyG) mastered the technical aspects of using Zoom with great skill and the general consensus of opinion was that these meetings should now continue on a monthly basis and invitations be extended to include any interested Forum members.
It has just been confirmed that the speaker at the next meeting on Wednesday 1 July at 5 pm (BST) will be Dr Puneet Kakar – Clinical Lead and Stroke Consultant at Epsom and St Helier Hospitals. He will be talking about Stroke, Covid 19 and AF.
However, as we move forward, there can sometimes be logistical issues which we would ask you to bear in mind. The Zoom function is limited to a total of 100 participants and naturally, the regular Surrey ASG members would have priority. Due to the pressures of their work, it is sometimes difficult for the NHS speakers to commit in good time to speaking which, in turn, can make it difficult for Rosemary to post details early on the forum. This means that information about meetings can sometimes be late but if anyone from the Forum would like to participate in any particular meeting, they would need to email Rosemary on:
info@surreyasg.co.uk
If appropriate, please include any questions you may have for the Speaker and Rosemary will then email back with details on how to join the meeting but please bear in mind the limitation on numbers, so it will have to be done on a first come, first served basis. However, those of you who have already made contact by email are already on the mailing list so you should receive details of the next meeting automatically.
One thing for guests outside the U.K. to consider is the time differences between countries. Future meetings will normally take place on the first Wednesday of each month at 1700 hours (5 pm) BST (British Summer Time) and normally last about an hour. They are likely to follow the same format as was used at Epsom Hospital. The Speakers, who are specialists in their field, are invited to make presentations and guests will have the opportunity to ask questions, normally at the end of the presentation. The purpose is to improve patient’s knowledge and understanding of AF but it is important that attendees understand that speakers can only express their general views and cannot engage in any discussions about a patients personal health. This must be undertaken by your own Doctors who have access to a patient’s full medical health history.
The next meeting on Wednesday 1 July will actually be the 6th Anniversary of the Surrey ASG therefore it is hoped that this exciting new development will bring benefits to a much wider group of people with AF. Don't forget to notify RosyG of your interest using the email address above.
In future, RosyG will ensure that more information about future meetings will become available in advance of future meeting.
A bit of moral support needed - a virtual hug?!
Reminder Support Group
New Support Group in Cheltenham starting in April
