SWANSEA BAY: The NHS course keeping lung patients out of hospital wins Wales’s first quality mark

An NHS course that helps people with damaged lungs get stronger, breathe easier and stay out of hospital has won a national quality mark, and Swansea Bay’s is the only one in Wales to hold it.

Around 185,000 people in Wales have been diagnosed with COPD, the umbrella term for lung conditions including chronic bronchitis and emphysema, according to Asthma + Lung UK Cymru, with thousands more living with other long-term lung disease.

The charity says many thousands more are living with the condition undiagnosed, often putting their breathlessness down to age or fitness rather than a treatable lung problem.

Pulmonary rehabilitation is the treatment many of them are offered: a course of supervised exercise and education, run over several weeks, that teaches people to manage their symptoms and build up their strength. The evidence shows it improves quality of life and cuts the risk of a hospital admission.

Patients start with an assessment appointment of up to two hours, then attend classes twice a week, and the health board says those who complete the course often find they have more energy, can control their breathlessness and anxiety more easily, and manage their condition with greater confidence.

Swansea Bay’s course has now been accredited under the Royal College of Physicians’ national scheme, an independent assessment against nationally recognised standards, making it the first and so far only service in Wales to pass.

The college’s own announcement notes that respiratory services across Wales face rising demand, workforce pressures and variation from area to area, which means what lung patients can access still depends partly on where they live.

The stakes are highest in winter, when COPD hospital admissions in Wales run around 50% higher than in summer, according to Asthma + Lung UK Cymru, making courses that keep people well at home matter to the whole system.

For patients, the college says, accreditation means the Swansea Bay course has been independently checked and is delivering improvements in symptoms and quality of life that are genuinely evidence-based, rather than taking the service’s word for it.

Dr Raj Krishnan, Swansea Bay’s medical director, said: “Pulmonary rehabilitation can make a real difference to people’s lives. We hope this achievement will support continued improvement and encourage more services across Wales to work towards accreditation.”

Nicola Perry-Gower, the health board’s strategic lead for pulmonary rehabilitation, paid tribute to her team and said: “We are committed to ongoing quality improvement and hope that we can lead the way in Wales for other services to become accredited.”

The team’s remit stretches beyond long-term lung conditions: Ms Perry-Gower also co-ordinates the health board’s long Covid pathway, with rehabilitation techniques developed for chronic lung disease put to work for people left breathless and fatigued by the virus.

Dr Ben Thomas, the Royal College of Physicians’ joint vice president for Wales, said the accreditation highlighted “the important role pulmonary rehabilitation plays in helping people with chronic respiratory conditions live well”, and said he hoped more Welsh services would follow.

The scheme is run by the college with respiratory healthcare professionals and patient representatives, giving services a framework to measure themselves against national standards and keep improving.

Pulmonary rehabilitation is usually reached by referral from a GP, practice nurse or hospital respiratory team, with Swansea Bay’s classes held in community and leisure centres across the area, chosen so they are level-access, close to parking and near a bus stop.