For a patient with COPD, their breathing problems usually get worse over time and can limit their normal activities, although there are a number of measures we can take to help slow the progression and ensure patients lead a fulfilling life.
Spirometry is a simple test used to help diagnose COPD by measuring the amount of air you can breathe out from your lungs and how fast you can blow it out.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting infection and prevention control measures, the number of spirometry tests carried out at GP practices, hospitals and clinics have significantly reduced. The Partnership’s Respiratory Network is now addressing this concern by encouraging the restarting of spirometry services across West Yorkshire.
To support primary care professionals such as GPs and nurses in restarting spirometry, the Respiratory Network hosted an online training event ‘Spirometry: Getting back to normal’, in March 2002. This interactive session offered guidance and reassurance about restarting spirometry by sharing best practice and promoting the benefits of this key step in managing respiratory disease.
Around 70 primary care professionals attended the online session where they were signposted to up-to-date, easily digestible learning material and had the opportunity to ask questions. The session was recorded to make it available for any primary care professionals who were unable to attend, and if helpful, as a refresher for those who did. More sessions are planned for the coming months.
As spirometry is now restarting across the region, we can speed up diagnosis to make sure that patients with COPD have access to treatments and interventions that not only reduce the severity of the condition but keep them out of hospital.