More than 140 patients, carers, healthcare professionals and community organisations came together in Leicester to celebrate the impact of the FIT-HF programme.
A pioneering Leicester research programme that has demonstrated promising improvements in quality of life, physical function and hospital admission rates for people living with heart failure is exploring how its innovative model of care could be expanded into community settings.
The Frailty Intervention Therapy in Heart Failure (FIT-HF) programme is a British Heart Foundation-funded initiative developed to support older people living with both heart failure and frailty. Co-designed with patients, carers, healthcare professionals and community stakeholders, FIT-HF takes a holistic approach to care, focusing on the outcomes that matter most to patients, including maintaining independence, improving wellbeing and supporting people to live well for longer.
To celebrate the achievements of the programme and explore opportunities for future community delivery, the FIT-HF Programme Community Showcase Event was held on 27 June 2026 at the NSPCC National Training Centre, Leicester, bringing together over 140 patients with cardiovascular disease, carers, healthcare professionals, researchers and community organisations.
The event celebrated the impact of the British Heart Foundation-funded FIT-HF programme and explored how this model of care could be moved beyond hospital settings into the community to increase its reach, impact and sustainability.
FIT-HF is a co-designed, multidisciplinary intervention for older people living with heart failure and frailty. Developed with input from over 300 stakeholders, the 12-week programme focuses on addressing the wider health and care needs of this population, with an emphasis on what matters most to patients: better quality of life, physical independence and confidence to live well.
Dr Shirley Sze, from the FIT-HF programme, shared: “The programme combines personalised chair-based exercise, nutritional assessment and counselling, medication optimisation, social and environmental support, and coordinated management of heart failure alongside other medical conditions. It is delivered by a multidisciplinary team including physiotherapists, dietitians, pharmacists, occupational therapists, heart failure specialists and geriatricians through a one-stop clinic model, with regular key worker follow-up.
“Trialled across two NHS sites, FIT-HF has shown promising improvements in quality of life and physical function, alongside reductions in hospital admissions and bed days, potential NHS cost savings and strong participant acceptability.”
The showcase gave attendees a hands-on experience of FIT-HF through interactive taster sessions on exercise and dance, meal planning, medication education, social and environmental support, integrated comorbidity management, future care planning, carer support and free health checks, including body composition and limb strength testing. The event also featured health talks, research updates, community organisation stalls and feedback opportunities.
Feedback from attendees strongly supported adapting FIT-HF for community delivery. People particularly valued being able to access multiple professionals in one place, receive practical support closer to home, and engage with a holistic model of care focused on independence, wellbeing and what matters most to patients.
The event strengthened community partnerships and will directly inform future implementation planning and funding applications to expand the reach, impact and sustainability of FIT-HF.