Respiratory team take a bow!

Local patients with lung disease – and their families and friends – might like to know that the team looking after their health needs has received national recognition for their work.

The British Thoracic Society has awarded a Special Commendation for the Innovation of the Delivery of Care Closer to the Patient to the Respiratory Care Team of the Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals NHS Trust and to the Respiratory Care Team of Surrey Primary Care Trust (North West Locality) covering Ashford, St. Peter’s and Woking Community Hospital.

Consultant Respiratory Physiotherapist Julia Bott said the 28-strong team were all delighted with the professional recognition for their determination to keep patients as fit and well as possible at home, thus preventing unnecessesary  admission to hospital – or if that was necessary aiming to get the patient the best possible care and to be discharged early where possible and appropriate. As a result hospital admission rates for respiratory patients have fallen by 18% per year since the team was established and even the average length of stay in hospital for those patients is well below the national average.

Said Ms Bott: “Our delivery of care for the patient involves close contact between staff from both primary care and the acute trust, namely,: our three consultant physicians; our specialist lung cancer and TB nurses; respiratory physiotherapists; occupational therapists; respiratory nurses; medical high dependency unit  and ward staff; pharmacists; the senior physiological measurement technician and our medical secretaries and administrator.”

The work is complex but the team have devised a system that enables team members to be able to help any individual whether in person at an out-patient clinic, with a home visit or via a telephone call.  A dedicated phone line takes messages from patients that are retrieved three times a day and appropriate action is taken in order of urgency and priority.  Many patients may be on oxygen at home, they may need help with managing breathlessness or with airway clearance and they may have other health problems.

Said Ms Bott: “They, and their carers, know that even if they are not scheduled for a visit the support of our team is only a phone call away.  Chronic lung disease can leave a patient feeling vulnerable, and as a team we are committed to doing whatever we can to improve their quality of life.

“We make sure that our patients are as knowledgeable about their disease and its’ management as they can, or wish to be.One of the key components is Pulmonary Rehabilitation, the most commonly requested service by patients across the country. We also provide a Hospital at Home Service and we work closely with GPs. We run training sessions for them and their Practice Nurses, as well as members of the acute Trust. We aim to provide a comprehensive service linking primary and secondary care – at home and in hospital. It’s encouraging to have this recognised by this award, but we won’t be resting on our laurels!”

Said Professor Mark Britton, Consultant Physician in Respiratory Medicine at the Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals NHS Trust: "This award by the British Thoracic Society in its Silver Jubilee year recognises the excellent integrated care that is provided by the Respiratory Team to patients with lung disease across North West Surrey. The team comprises of a variety of Health Care Professionals allied to respiratory care employed by both the Acute and Community Trusts

“Both Primary Care Trusts and Acute Trusts across the country need to recognise the importance of this integrated approach and preserve the essential links between - something that is not readily appreciated in the present drive to provide services totally in the community."