Graham Evans this week lent his support to a campaign to help raise awareness about the estimated 25,000 preventable deaths caused each year from hospital acquired thrombosis – the UK’s single biggest preventable hospital killer.

The ‘stop the clot’ initiative, spearheaded by the charity Lifeblood, is a week-long campaign to reach out to the general public and undergraduate medics, to improve understanding about the risks of developing deep vein thrombosis in hospital.

At a meeting in Westminster Graham was briefed by the team at Lifeblood about the risks of developing thrombosis and had his picture taken with a giant blood clot, to remind people about how thrombosis is caused. A deep vein thrombosis is a blood clot in the veins of the lower body, which can particularly form when someone is immobile and unwell. Part or all of the clot can detach and travel through the blood system where it can block the arteries supplying the lungs - a pulmonary embolism - which can be fatal.

Thrombosis is the immediate cause of death in 10% of all patients who die in hospital although most blood clots show up after the patient has left hospital.

Graham said “It is astonishing to think that 500 people die each week in our hospitals from this preventable illness. And it is important that everyone understands that this is not just a condition that affects older people. Making sure that people are aware of the dangers of developing blood clots, particularly during hospital stays, and ensuring they are properly risk-assessed by hospital staff goes a long way  to reducing the thousands of preventable deaths from this potentially fatal condition.”

National Thrombosis Week coincided with the publication of a poll highlighting poor public understanding about the condition. More than half of people questioned said they thought the greatest risk of developing thrombosis was on a long haul flight, while twice as many people thought there was a greater risk of contracting MRSA in hospital than deep vein thrombosis. In fact, hospital-acquired infections account for an estimated 10,000 deaths a year compared to the estimated 25,000 deaths caused each year by hospital acquired thrombosis.

Lifeblood’s ‘stop the clot’ campaign is encouraging people who go into hospital, and those family members of patients, to better understand the risks of developing the condition and to take the necessary steps to prevent them falling ill. Lifeblood has developed the ‘FLOW’ campaign as part of this initiative:

• Find out if you are at risk of developing thrombosis in hospital by asking for a risk-assessment
• Lower your risk by using compression stockings and blood thinners
• Observe any symptoms of clots – warmth, swelling or pain
• Warn your doctor or nurse if you experience symptoms or are concerned about your risk

Professor Beverley Hunt, Director of Lifeblood and leading haematologist, said: “We are delighted that Graham is supporting National Thrombosis Week 2010. Awareness of deep vein thrombosis (clots) is patchy amongst both the public and the UK's medical community about the dangers of the condition and how to spot the early signs of the condition. The purpose of our 'stop the clot' campaign is to make sure as many people as possible are aware of how a clot can present, recognise that they are very common after being in hospital and they take the necessary steps to make sure they are assessed by medics if they develop any symptoms.”