Pulmonary Rehabilitation Programme

Pulmonary Rehabilitation is an exercise and education programme for people with lung conditions. People on the programme meet twice a week.

The aim of the programme is to help people improve breathlessness and help manage living with a long-term lung condition.

The team include specialist respiratory physiotherapists and support assistants. They work with other teams,such as speech and language therapists, dieticians, Talking Therapies to deliver the programme.

The Pulmonary Rehabilitation programme is for people who have been diagnosed with breathing problems like asthma, COPD, bronchiectasis, lung tissue disease, or lung cancer.

The programme is to help people improve breathlessness and manage their long term lung conditions.

Where service is based

Referral from GP, healthcare professionals and local hospital(s).

Inclusion criteria

• Formal diagnosis COPD, but also other chronic respiratory disease such as Bronchiectasis, Interstitial Lung Disease, Asthma, Lung Cancer
• To be able to commit to attending twice weekly programme for 6 weeks
• To be able to commit to attending Initial and Final Walk Test assessments.
• To be registered with a GP Practice in commissioning area
• To have had Spirometry in last 12 months (if not in last 12 months, give most recent reading)
• Declining functional capacity with breathlessness and MRC Grade 2 or above.
• Be clinically stable and on optimised medication

Exclusion criteria:

• MRC 5 and housebound (if unable to get to a PR Group, and having difficulty with airway clearance/cough/breathing pattern disorder, then please use same form but request Chest Physio with a brief outline of difficulties)
• Unstable Cardiac conditions
• Uncontrolled hypertension
• Musculoskeletal disease limiting ability to be able to participate in a progressive exercise programme

Referrals for the pulmonary rehab programme are made using the pulmonary rehab referral form and then emailed to the team using the address, epunft.pulmonary.rehabilitationreferral@nhs.net