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9th November 2011 For Immediate Release
Leeds Building Society is at the heart of the community
Leeds Building Society members have found a place at the heart of the community by teaming up with the British Heart Foundation (BHF) in the fight against heart disease and raising over £3,000.
The mutual’s members voted to donate £3,200 to the BHF. This donation is the charitable incentive donation from the Society’s annual general meeting. Leeds Building Society donated 10p for every postal vote received and 20p for every internet vote. Members selected which partner charity they wanted to receive the donation from their vote.
Paula Smith, Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust heart failure nurse specialist said, "This £3,200 donation will go towards helping the British Heart Foundation set up a community intravenous (IV) diuretic service for patients with heart failure. This is an exciting, challenging and innovative development, as IV diuretics have never been given in a community setting before.
"Currently, if increasing the doses of oral diuretics fails to improve symptoms, the patient is usually admitted to hospital for intravenous (IV) diuretic treatment. This community IV diuretic service will offer our patients in Leeds an alternative to hospital admission. We are hoping to be able to prescribe and administer intravenous and subcutaneous diuretics to heart failure patients in their own homes by the end of December 2011 / early January 2012."
Michael Ward, Press and P.R. Officer at Leeds Building Society said, "I was delighted to visit Shaftesbury House for an explanation and viewing of how the community IV diuretic service will work. It is a fantastic initiative, and it will be wonderful if it can be administered to patients in their own homes rather than them having to be admitted to hospital as at present.
"Leeds Building Society is very pleased that our members chose to donate over £3,000 to assist the British Heath Foundation, to help the charity make their tremendous aim become reality."
Sue Green, BHF fundraising manager for West Yorkshire said, "Everything we do at the BHF is intended to make a tangible difference to people's lives. Whether we're providing care and support to patients or researching potentially life-saving treatments, we never forget how many people are counting on us to succeed. Support from stakeholders like Leeds Building Society’s members makes a big difference in raising the vital funds needed to help us continue with our life-saving work."
Ends
Notes to Editors
Left Picture: from left to right and witnessing a viewing and explanation of how the community IV diuretic service will work, Michael Ward (Press and P.R. Officer, Leeds Building Society), Leanne Coyle (Heart Patient), Caroline Senior (Heart Failure Nurse), Sue Green (BHF Fundraising Manager for West Yorkshire) and Paula Smith (Heart Failure Nurse).
Right Picture: shows (pictured from left to right) Michael Ward, Leanne Coyle, Sue Green, Caroline Senior and Paula Smith.
These photos were taken at Shaftesbury House, Harehills Lane in Leeds.
Leanne Coyle is a heart patient who supports the work of the British Heart Foundation.
Leeds Building Society has assets of £9.5bn (as at 31 December 2010) and 67 branches throughout the UK, Gibraltar and Ireland. The Society has operated from the centre of Leeds since 1886.