We organise transition days in collaboration with Evelina London and St Thomas’ Hospital, and other London hospitals.

Transition Days are special days geared towards giving you more information about congenital heart disease (CHD), what you need to think about as you take on more responsibility for your specific condition, and how to manage your healthcare as you prepare to move from paediatric to adult heart care services. This preparatory period is called ‘transition’.

The aim of these days is to give you and your parents/carers an opportunity to get to know other people in the group and to find out how you’d like to see our transition services develop. We want you to be in the driving seat.

For part of the day, you’ll be separated from your parents and carers so that you can attend different talks and workshops about various topics and areas of interest. These are presented by specialist clinical nurses, cardiologists, consultant clinical psychologists and the ECHO team.

You’ll learn about issues affecting young people with CHD as they become adults and meet members of the adult healthcare team who’ll tell you more about what to expect from the adult services attached to your current hospital. You’ll have lots of opportunity to ask questions and raise any concerns you might have.

Please note, the day does not include a clinical review by a doctor and is simply a chance for you to find out more about your condition, to meet other young people in similar circumstances and to gain insight into your future care.

We aim to provide young adults with the following information:

• Advice and information about the heart and circulation
• Transition to adult care
• Diet
• Exercise
• Stress and anxiety management
• Careers
• Relationships
• Smoking, alcohol and drug use

There will be lots of time for you to ask questions in a relaxed and fun environment. If you’d like to talk to someone in private, please just ask one of the ECHO team who’ll be more than happy to help.

It’s also a great opportunity for parents and carers to meet other parents and carers of heart children, to share stories and experiences. You can also meet representatives from other charities and information groups that can offer extra support.