Resilience tool for enhanced crisis preparedness in cardiovascular diseases across EU Member States.

Cardiovascular Diseases (CVD) and diabetes are leading causes of death and morbidity globally, comprising a heavy burden to health systems and are closely related to health inequalities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the burden of CVD was exacerbated by i) the increased morbidity and mortality of people with prior CVD infected with SARS-CoV2 and ii) the reduction in the availability of healthcare services for those with non-communicable diseases such as acute CVD. A wealth of publications resulted that assessed the situation in terms of reductions, termination of crucial interventions required for CVD patients. The pandemic also shed light on the lack of resilience within healthcare systems across the EU. Among those organisations that have been investigating the severity of the impact are the RESIL-Card consortium members. WE CARE Alliance, Amsterdam UMC, CatSalut and GISE are organisations united in their vision to change the landscape of cardiovascular care in times of crisis through assessment of the pandemic responses, best practices and disparities in resilience across various Member States and regions. The project will identify and document the best practices with a view to develop a resilience assessment tool for crisis preparedness, building on previous publicly funded projects. The consortium will pilot this tool via their wide European network of ~40,000 health care professionals and their affiliated medical centres. The consortium can leverage a network of non-profit and patient organisations across Europe to raise awareness among patients while also disseminating and communicating the findings of the project. RESIL-Card also benefits from strong connections in Ukraine for supporting the rebuilding of care systems and displaced people. RESIL-Card will support guideline development and training and twinning activities to maximise impacts in Member States and Ukraine and contribute to reducing the burden of CVDs, especially during times of crisis.