More help to tackle lung disease

Patients suffering with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) can now access more help following improvements to local health services.

Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust has been working with GPs and partners from NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale to provide better services to patients with mild to moderate COPD.

As part of the improved community services, patients with COPD will now be provided with a whole package of care including stop smoking support, advice on healthy eating, help to get more active and education about how to better manage their condition.

The Expert Patients Programme is a team of volunteers who live with a long term condition themselves and are trained to provide support and advice to other sufferers. Patients taking part in this specific expert patients programme will benefit from peer support and will also be given a choice of exercise options through the leisure trust, Link4Life. This will help to introduce regular physical activity into a patient’s every day routine, which is a proven method of treating COPD.

Chris Tyson, Operational Manager for Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, said: “By providing more support to COPD patients with mild to moderate conditions we can prevent them from becoming worse, reduce the need for more specialist care and avoid them from ending up in hospital. It also means that our more specialist pulmonary rehabilitation programmes can provide support to patients with more severe illness.”

Dr Simon Rhodes, CCG Clinical Lead, said: “Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust and NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale are leading the way in improving the care of patients with COPD. The Expert Patients Programme has been very well received in the pilot phase and I am sure will improve the quality of life of many mild to moderate COPD sufferers.”

COPD is an umbrella term for chronic bronchitis and emphysema. People with COPD have trouble breathing in and out. The symptoms of the disease include shortness of breath and a cough that won’t go away, both of which may get worse during winter. COPD is one of the most common respiratory diseases in the UK and it usually affects people over the age of 35. Breathing difficulties found with COPD are caused by long-term damage to the lungs, usually caused by smoking. Through careful management of COPD and lifestyle changes such as taking gentle exercise and quitting smoking, patients can prevent COPD from developing or getting worse.