Patient Biographies

David lives in Bolton with his wife.  He retired from banking in the late 1990s after helping to support businesses through the aftermath of the IRA bomb in Manchester.  Since that time he has worked as a finance advisor.  Several years ago, at Christmas, David developed unstable angina and within 3 months had cardiac surgery.  David’s psychological reaction to this was total non-acceptance of the event and he felt very isolated.  He thought that whilst the clinical advice and care he received were excellent, for him the personal and emotional implications were uppermost.  This led to several months of very difficult times for the whole family.

He sought out Bolton Cardiac Support Group, whose members proved well able to listen and speed him on to total recovery.

David became a Committee Member of the Support Group, in which capacity he also attended other NHS Bolton meetings.

David was a founder member of the Patient and Professional Partnership Group (Triple PG) for Greater Manchester & Cheshire Cardiac Network and also joined the Cardiac Board and the Patient and Public Involvement Steering Group.  David particularly enjoys contact with all the other local support groups, working with the British Heart Foundation and being a champion of cardiac rehabilitation, both nationally and locally.  From the early days of the Department of Health's Stroke Strategy and local and national awareness campaigns, David has enjoyed helping to develop stroke patient and carer representatives who can influence services and bring fair and best clinical practices into operation.

Danny Jenkins

He had bypass surgery in 2000, having never been ill before, and since then has worked tirelessly as a member of Tameside Heartlink Cardiac Support Group and for NHS Tameside and Glossop.  He is also active in the British Heart Foundation and has experience as a patient representative visitor inspecting Trusts with the Healthcare Commission and Cardiac Network.

From early 2000, he joined the Network as a patient representative and was appointed to the Board in 2008.  He also represents patients and carers on the Network South Sector Board and the Tertiary Committee.

He is a champion of cardiac rehabilitation and equality in cardiac services and has shown particular interest in black and minority ethnic groups; since the merger of the Stroke Network with the Cardiac Network, Danny has also enjoyed liaising with stroke patients with disabilities, including aphasia.

Lee Gration

Lee was born with Down’s Syndrome and, as is often the case, had some congenital heart problems, too.  His mum, Val, made a film with us, in 2008, shortly after Lee’s death to inform other people about Lee’s life and the ongoing need for expert services for all people with adult congenital heart disease.  Lee died, following a stroke, when he was still in his mid twenties.  Lee’s mum, Val, and her partner, Glyn, kindly agreed to be in lots of photos on our Cardiac and Stroke Network website.  They represent themselves - as family members affected by cardiac problems and stroke - but we all wanted to see Lee represented, in his own right.