Royal Mail fundraising enables BHF to offer freephone patient helpline service

Thanks to fundraising through our partnership with Royal Mail, our vital helpline is now free to call for the first time since the service was first made available over 20 years ago.

The Heart Helpline is a service where heart patients can call and speak to our experienced cardiac nurses about their condition and concerns. The Heart Helpline, which is open five days a week, offers expert information and support about heart and circulatory diseases and their risk factors to approximately 80 callers a day.

Switching to a freephone number means the public won't be charged for seeking support from an experienced cardiac nurse, making heart health information and guidance more accessible than ever.

"The nurses have always been so kind and gave us the knowledge and reassurance we needed"

The Waters family from Tunbridge Wells in Kent, used our Heart Helpline on multiple occasions to support father and husband Stuart Waters. Stuart, 48 at the time, suffered a cardiac arrest whilst in the car with his two young children. Stuart was considered clinically dead for 18 minutes and needed several follow-up operations.

Stuart's wife, Leanne Waters, 37, said: "The BHF's Heart Helpline was hugely important for us a family whilst Stuart was undergoing help and treatment after his cardiac arrest. I felt I needed the support from experts so that I could help him and our family as best I could. It was such a tough time for us and I felt I couldn't let out my emotions to other members of the family. I remember speaking to a specialist nurse and just breaking down - she allowed me that space that I couldn't find elsewhere.

"The nurses have always been so kind and gave us the knowledge and reassurance we needed. Knowing it was there as a crutch for us was invaluable. It's fantastic to hear that the Heart Helpline is now totally free and will continue to support and help families the way it did for us."

Our partnership with Royal Mail will last until 2026 with the goal of protecting heart health and saving lives across communities. This first fundraising milestone will be hugely significant for the 1,600 callers that come through the Heart Helpline each month looking for expert guidance.

Greg Sage, Deputy Director Corporate Affairs & ESG, Royal Mail said: "It's fantastic that we've been able to make the Heart Helpline freely accessible for the British public, and brilliant to hear how it's going to benefit individuals and families across the country. It's only been made possible through the hard fundraising efforts of our colleagues here at Royal Mail.

"Royal Mail staff have pushed themselves through physical challenges such as the London Marathon, BHF's London to Brighton Bike Ride and generously donated through Payroll Giving and worked hard on initiatives to raise money for BHF. It's a proud achievement for us to have enabled the Heart Helpline to be moved to a freephone number and we're looking forward to seeing what other impact our partnership with BHF can have."

Over 400 calls a week from heart patients and their families

Calls to our Heart Helpline have seen a 10 percent increase from last year, with nurses now taking up to 400 calls a week.

Maureen Talbot, one of our Senior Cardiac Nurses said: "Making our Heart Helpline free to call is a milestone celebration for the BHF. It's now easier than ever for someone to ring us for information and support, and they can speak to one of our dedicated and experienced cardiac nurses. This has never been more needed as hundreds of thousands of people face record long waits for vital heart care.

"For over 20 years, we have been helping hundreds of thousands of people process a new diagnosis, understand clinical jargon or been a shoulder to cry on. We're so grateful to Royal Mail for helping us make our brilliant service even more accessible to support countless more patients and their families."

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