Lung Health @home
Health Innovation South West led a partnership to develop Lung Health @home to support more people to manage their lung condition at home year-round and to increase access to pulmonary rehabilitation for people with moderate to severe breathlessness.
Health Innovation South West have delivered support for more people to manage their lung condition at home and access pulmonary rehabilitation. We have developed and supported implementation of NHS @home including the Lung Health @home approach and a number of resources that were tested across England. The information provided here is intended to give an overview and insight into Lung Health @home.
Lung Health @home assists healthcare professionals and systems to transform their pathway to support people with a respiratory condition to play a more active role in managing their health at home year-round.
To date Lung Health @home has focused on two core objectives:
- Improving access to pulmonary rehabilitation (PR), through case finding and prioritisation and by improving and personalising the referral pathway
- Increasing access and participation in supported self-management, education, exercise and other activity for people with a respiratory condition
Why is Lung Health @home needed?
Lung Health @home supports people to live well year-round with a chronic respiratory disease through increasing access to pulmonary rehabilitation, supported self-management, education and other activities. The work supports the NHS Long Term Plan, which seeks to increase access to PR and interventions that can help people better manage their condition to a wider group of people. It is also aligned with NHS England’s national PR programme through tools and support for people and professionals to understand what is involved and the benefits of PR; and how professionals can refer people appropriately and effectively.
There is a growing population of people living with a respiratory condition in England who need support to manage their condition at home, keep well and access evidence-based treatments. In the UK:
- Approximately 3 million people are living with COPD and emergency hospital admissions for exacerbations are the second largest cause of admissions in the UK (source)
- Asthma is the most common lung condition in the UK, affecting 5.4 million people (source)
- 212,000 people are living with bronchiectasis (source)
- People living in areas with the highest levels of deprivation (IMD 1) are nearly 5 times more likely to die from COPD and 3 times more likely to die from asthma than those living in areas with the lowest levels of deprivation (IMD 10) (source)
- Currently, COPD patients in the UK utilise 1.8 million bed days annually, of which 622,000 (34%) occur in winter (source)
PR increases a patient’s ability to self-manage and reduces exacerbations and use of primary and secondary healthcare.
Access and engagement with evidence-based treatments such as PR, however, varies significantly across England:
- Nearly 50% of patients wait longer than 90 days to access PR, and in some areas in England, less than 20% of people access PR within the recommended 90 days after referral (source)
Who is Lung Health @home for?
The Lung Health approach and resources will be of interest to healthcare professionals and systems who are looking to transform their respiratory pathway, increase access to recommended treatments and improve patient outcomes.
Who developed Lung Health @home?
Health Innovation South West are working with NHS England as a delivery partner for its Lung Health @home programme as it evolves to adapt to changes in the health context.
Health Innovation South West have led the development of Lung Health @home, which has included leading work with delivery partners Kaleidoscope Health and Care, Mtech Access, UCL Partners and the Health Innovation Network. It included strong clinical involvement from NHS speciality leads, respiratory consultants, Patient and Public Voice representatives, Asthma + Lung UK, regional Clinical Respiratory Networks, and primary care (GPs with specialist interest, practice nurses, social prescribers, health and well-being coaches).
Lung Health @home is part of NHS England’s NHS @home approach to providing better connected, more personalised care in people’s homes, including care homes. It aims to ensure people have faster access to more appropriate and targeted care, without having to attend emergency care or arrange GP appointments.
