course helps manage respiratory condition

Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke has launched a new campaign called Breathing Better encouraging health professionals, GPs and pharmacists to refer patients living with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) to the charity’s Taking Control Self-Management Programme.

Nearly 40,000 people are living with COPD in Northern Ireland, a 43% increase in the last decade. For many, breathing difficulties can be severely debilitating, impacting daily life, causing exacerbations, repeated hospital admissions, poor sleep, anxiousness, isolation and even depression.

However NICHS says that while COPD can’t be cured, through careful management, people living with the disease can regain quality of life.

NICHS’s Taking Control Self-Management Programme is delivered via a weekly workshop over a six-week period and is free of charge.

Through the course people learn a range of self-management techniques. Many have even reported increased lung function achieved through exercise, meaning they are able to better use the oxygen in the air that they breathe.

As part of the Breathing Better campaign NICHS is contacting GPs and pharmacists to highlight the programme — information pamphlets and posters have also been created for display.

Six videos featuring real life stories have also been created, showcasing the difference the course, and the techniques learned through the course can make to people’s lives.

For more information on the Breathing Better campaign, visit @ nichstweet, nichs.org.uk or tel: 028 9032 0184.