Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland has said more needs to be done to help those with serious chest conditions
Those who require treatment chest conditions face a postcode lottery, a charity has claimed.
To mark World COPD Day (21 November), Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland (CHSS) has published new figures showing the wide variations in the treatment available for people living with chest conditions like Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in Scotland.
The charity is calling on the Scottish Government to take action to deliver a Right to Pulmonary Rehabilitation, to ensure everyone has a universal and equal right to a treatment that is cost effective and clinically proven to improve people’s health and wellbeing.
A study by the charity has shown the number of people being referred to pulmonary rehabilitation is very low, and ranges across health boards from just 2% to 21% of people who would benefit.
Waiting times were also found to range from four weeks to 29 weeks for an assessment, and then on average a further three weeks to begin pulmonary rehabilitation.
CHSS has said pulmonary rehabilitation courses have been proven to improve physical and mental health, and save the NHS money by reducing hospital admissions and halving the time spent in hospital. Yet the provision across the country remains very patchy, with limited capacity and insufficient referrals by health professionals.
The charity is campaigning for the Scottish Government to introduce a universal and equal Right to Rehab, including investment and leadership in tackling the availability of pulmonary rehabilitation to make sure people receive the best possible treatment. The report calls for the government to establish fund for health boards to deliver a Right to Rehab for people with chest conditions and to support the development of partnership opportunities between the third sector, NHS and social care in order to provide an integrated rehabilitation pathway.
Jane-Claire Judson, chief executive of CHSS, said: “These new figures show that there isn’t universal and equal access to Pulmonary Rehabilitation across Scotland. This needs to change. That’s why we are urging the Scottish Government to take action.
“Behind these figures are missed opportunities to help people live a fuller life. It is unacceptable that so many people are missing out on pulmonary rehabilitation. We know chest disease can impact on every aspect of people’s lives. Breathlessness and fatigue can lead to anxiety and mental health problems which in turn can cause isolation. It is essential that people get the support they need.”
Treatment turned my life around
Dorothy Keith, 68, from Newtongrange is living with COPD, after being diagnosed in 2009.
She lives with her husband and has two children and six grandchildren. Dorothy noticed something was wrong a year after she stopped smoking. She was getting very breathless and found it hard to go out in windy weather.
She said: “When I was first diagnosed with COPD and throughout the years that I’ve had it, my main support has actually been my husband and my children. I get terrible breathlessness, and that can actually cause me to go into panic which makes you ten times worse, really.
"If necessary I would go to the doctor or even the practice nurse. But normally I would just try and control it myself. Pulmonary rehabilitation was the making of me, basically, it really was. I was five years into having COPD before I was asked if I wanted to do this. I had to then wait another eighteen months before I got into a class but it turned my life around, absolutely turned my life around.”
