World COPD Day event in Rochdale

Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust’s Pulmonary Rehabilitation Team will be marking this year’s World COPD Day by supporting the Breathe Easy Group.

Organised by the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Lung Disease (GOLD), this year’s World COPD Day is based on the theme “It’s not too late.”

Pennine Care’s Pulmonary Rehabilitation Team will be marking the day with an Afternoon Tea which will be an opportunity for the general public to learn about living with Coronary Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Information will be provided on health trainers, smoking cessation, exercise on referral, pulmonary rehabilitation, oral health promotion and healthy walks.

Sarah Constable, a staff nurse who is part of the Pulmonary Rehabilitation Team said: “As a team we feel it is important to support our local Breathe Easy group as these people are experts living with breathing conditions. Many have attended Pulmonary Rehabilitation so have the self management skills required to live with COPD. By working closely with the community we serve, we can better understand their needs.

“We are hoping that by promoting awareness of COPD and the challenges of living with this condition, people will be more likely to go to their GP to get checked if they have any concerns and will feel better equipped to deal with this illness"

Coronary Obstructive Pulmonary Disease is a lung disease which leaves patients with poor airflow due to damage to the lung tissue and issues with the smaller airways. The most common cause is tobacco smoke and, unlike with asthma, the condition is rarely reversible. By tackling the problem early, the progression of the disease can be slowed down but the sooner this is done the better.

Pennine Care’s Pulmonary Rehabilitation Team currently offers a six week programme of exercise and education for people who feel their breathing condition restricts activity. Breathe Easy Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale is a local support group for people living with lung disease, as well as their family, friends and carers. They meet on the first Wednesday of the month, March to December at 1:30pm.

The afternoon tea will be held at Castleton Community Centre, Wednesday 20 November, 1:30pm to 3pm.