In October this year, a team of vascular surgeons, nurses, and healthcare scientists will take on a 185-mile cycle challenge through the Outer Hebrides Islands off the coast of Scotland, UK, in a bid to raise awareness and funding for the Circulation Foundation.
Established in 1992, the Circulation Foundation is the charitable foundation of the Vascular Society of Great Britain and Ireland (VSGBI) and works to fund and promote research into the causes, prevention, and treatment of vascular disease.
According to the Foundation, vascular disease is as common as cancer and heart disease and accounts for 40% of deaths in the UK. The Foundation’s vision is a society free of vascular disease and its associated suffering.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and heavy workloads, the cycling team is committed to taking on the Outer Hebrides challenge to raise awareness and gain support for their often under-represented patients with vascular disease.
VSGBI president Michael Jenkins (Imperial College Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK) considers the challenge ahead: “When Chris (Imray) and I first thought of doing this, we had no idea it was a recognised cycle route! Once we realised it was and began talking about it, we realised others were interested and we now have a group including members from most of our allied vascular societies—vascular nursing, vascular scientists and vascular anaesthetists. The original plan was a sunny Spring venture, but COVID-19 put paid to that so now we are venturing out in (likely to be not-so-sunny) October… So even more reason to sponsor us as the first of the Autumn gales roll in from the Atlantic! The Circulation Foundation and all our patients will benefit.”
All funds raised will go towards the funding and promotion of research into the causes, prevention, and treatment of vascular disease.
To donate, please visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/circulationfoundation-outerhebrideschallenge.
To find out more about the Circulation Foundation, please visit https://www.circulationfoundation.org.uk/.
