Project Name: Collaborative Working Mid and South Essex Lipid enhanced service – Basildon Hospital

Project Summary:

The CWP is structured such that a multi-disciplinary health professional team will provide tailored care for patients, aligned with the Primary Care Network (PCN) Contract Direct Enhanced Service) DES and Locally defined Cardiovascular plans.

The main objective of the CWP is to improve the quality of care for patients and support the early identification, review, and medical optimization of patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), FH patients who are at high risk of cardiovascular events and other primary prevention where appropriate, who are not achieving lipid levels as specified in national and/or local guidance, in response to the needs of the CW Partner.

The Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, on behalf of Basildon University Hospital (CW Partner) has requested a six (6) month time extension to allow it to prepare a business case for funding of enhanced lipid service to the CVD Board, Hospital Trust and ICB board. 

In addition, the CW Partner has requested additional funding for, 1 WTE Band 7 Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) at Basildon University Hospital to enable additional data to be collected to inform the business case. This extension will allow the project to progress into the next financial year, whereby they can submit business case through the triple process. The Triple process is an approval process from the NHS for funding, this requires the business case to be reviewed by CVD Board at the Hospital Trust, the Hospital Trust Board and the ICS (Integrated Care Systems – the commissioners of services at the Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust) for the approval of funding.  

Planned Milestones:

  • Collection of baseline data, in line with the above Project Outcome Measures & Data Collection table.
  • Confirmation of clinical and operational pathway, referral letter template to primary care, policy and protocol creation, and readiness to begin the clinical activity
  • Confirmation of recruitment of band 7 nurse.
  • Collection & submission of 3 months clinical activity data & Project Review meeting to discuss project progress.
  • Collection & submission of 6 months clinical activity data & Project Review meeting to discuss project progress.
  • Collection & submission of 9 months clinical activity data.
  • Development of business case to continue the service offered by this project & Project Review meeting to discuss project progress.
  • Collection & submission of 12 months clinical activity data & Project Review meeting to discuss project progress.
  • Collection & submission of 15 months clinical activity data
  • Business Case submitted to the hospital Trust with additional 3 months data and reviewed at ICB level
  • Collection & submission of 18 months clinical activity data
  • Analysis of CWP data, submission of Final Project Report, Submission of Outcomes Summary

Expected Benefits:

Anticipated benefits for patients:

  • Improved access to lipid management care leading to optimal diagnosis and management of ASCVD treatments.  
  • Enhanced experience around ASCVD with ongoing management of the condition.  
  • Improved access to appropriate medication for CVD prevention as per National and local guidelines

Anticipated benefits for the organisation:

  • Increased proportion of ASCVD patients reviewed.
  • Increased proportion of ASCVD patients receiving expert and timely review
  • Increased proportion of patients receiving guideline-directed pharmacotherapy
  • Support aligned to NHS Long Term Plan, CVDPREVENT, and Network Contract DES

Anticipated benefits for Novartis:

  • Insight on the appropriate use of ASCVD licensed medicines in line with NICE guidelines, including Novartis’s medicine 
  • Enhanced reputation, and supporting Novartis’ vision that no patient should have to wait for an extraordinary life, by supporting high quality Collaborative Working with healthcare organisations which addresses the problem of health inequalities   
  • Ethical, professional, and transparent relationship between Novartis and the Healthcare Organisation 

Start Date & Duration: October 2023 for 21 months

FA-11458672 | June 2025

Project Name: Mid and South Essex Lipid enhanced service – Basildon Hospital

Partner Organisation(s): Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, Nethermayne, Basildon, Essex, England, SS16 5NL 

Completion Date: November 2025

Outcome Summary: 

The introduction of a dedicated lipid nurse for 18 months as part of the collaborative working agreement, has significantly improved the quality of care for patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). The service enabled earlier identification, comprehensive review, and optimal medical management of patients at high cardiovascular risk.

Through this initiative, familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) patients and other high-risk primary prevention patients not achieving target LDL levels, as defined by national and local guidelines, were effectively identified and treated, resulting in optimised lipid control and reduced cardiovascular risk.

Key Project Outcomes Data: 

Our collaboration helped to achieve target LDL Levels and reduce CVD risk in high-risk patients. Number of patients seen in Nurse delivered service is available in 18-month data.

Outcomes: 

  1. Early Identification: Enhanced detection of ASCVD patients not meeting lipid targets, ensuring timely intervention.
  2. Management of Complex Cases: Supported patients previously intolerant or unwilling to pursue alternative lipid therapies through personalised counselling and treatment adjustment.
  3. Optimised Treatment: Collaboratively reviewed therapy options, optimising lipid-lowering regimens to achieve lowest possible or guideline-recommended LDL levels.
  4. Familial Hypercholesterolaemia (FH) Support: Provided focused counselling for FH patients, promoted cascade screening among family members, and encouraged early initiation of lipid-lowering therapy.
  5. Primary Prevention: Engaged with other high-risk patients to improve lipid management, screen relatives, and prevent cardiovascular events.
  6. Integrated Care: Once target LDL levels were achieved, patients were transitioned back to primary care for continued monitoring—supporting sustainable long-term CVD management.
  7. Access to Innovative Therapies: Facilitated timely use of all NICE-approved LDL-lowering treatments, improving treatment accessibility.
  8. Improved Patient Experience: Reduced waiting times and enhanced communication led to faster treatment initiation and a better overall care experience.

Conclusion: 

As part of this collaborative working agreement, the full-time Band 7 Lipid Nurse has been instrumental in enhancing lipid management services across Mid and South Essex. Over the 18-month period, this initiative has:

  • Reduced waiting times for lipid reviews and treatment initiation,
  • Increased patient access to NICE approved LDL-lowering therapies, and
  • Improved cardiovascular outcomes for a large cohort of patients.

The project demonstrates the value of targeted investment in specialist nursing roles to deliver measurable improvements in cardiovascular health and system efficiency.

FA-11634193 | March 2026