Breathe Better Project - Breathe Better Get-togethers (BBGTs), Manchester
Project overview, including who was involved in the project
The Breathe Better Project aims to:1. Bring together patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), carers, clinicians, voluntary and community groups
2. Use an asset-based community approach including third sector groups
3. Embed it in the system so that if recurrent funding isn’t available, it would still be sustainable
4. Improve well-being, reduce anxiety, social isolation and increase activity
5. Move focus from medicines and tests to helping people with living with and managing their condition
Who was involved in this work/project?
- Manchester Foundation Trust
- Manchester Local Care Organisation (LCO)
- MCRActive (Manchester Active)
Project outcomes/impact
Following consultation in identified primary care networks (PCNs) we have established a get-together in North, Central and South Manchester. These groups meet monthly - same day of the month at same place and time.At each get-together we have a clinician present to answer queries, we have a social time with coffee, information sessions and taster activity. Feedback from patients has been good and we are currently collecting formal feedback.
Activities we have offered include: Tai Chi, Yoga, Boxing, Gentle chair exercise, Singing, Relaxation
We have learnt several things along the way:
1. Feedback
• People enjoy opportunity to socialise, get active and learn
• Meeting new people is important to COPD patients we have engaged ‘making friends’
• Attending COPD patients don’t feel confident in how to use their equipment, or in their knowledge of COPD management
• People feel able to ask questions they wouldn’t have bothered GP with
• People don’t like to attend clinical spaces for BBGTs
2. Observations
• Loneliness is relatively common among attending COPD patients
• Falls risk overlap; likely owing to age group
• Attending patients often not well-informed about their condition
• There is shame around continued smoking but desire to quit
• There is desire to get more active and live healthier lives
• Not enough COPD patients are aware of Community Respiratory Team (CRT), pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) or Physical Activity Referral Service (PARS)’ so lots of referrals made, including to Falls Team.
If you were to run the project again, what would you do differently?
• Ensure that there was adequate buy in from PCN leads to ensure messages to identified patients go out so patients are reminded of the session.• Engage local community leaders for hard-to-reach groups to establish what barriers are to people engaging with healthcare and tailor communications
• Consider a more objective way of collecting data as because we wanted it to easy for patients just to turn up, we didn’t take personal details unless they clinically needed something.