What should we be doing?
High quality care in acute care for COPD means effective prevention and management of exacerbations and admissions.
The COPD and Asthma Outcomes Strategy tells us that the unscheduled admissions for COPD represent a high burden on the NHS but effective and proactive disease management and evidence based interventions can reduce the burden of COPD on NHS resources.
Whilst exacerbations of COPD are inevitable for some people identifying symptoms and complications earlier can minimise the exacerbation and slow the rate of disease progression. In addition to achieving our primary goal of improving outcomes for patients, this will result in fewer unplanned acute admissions and shorter lengths of stay. One of the key elements that will improve care for people with long term conditions such as COPD is to have integrated care which moves away from today’s largely reactive models of care into proactive multi-disciplinary teams.
More information
For more information about transforming acute care, please contact:
Catherine Thompson
National Improvement Lead
Lung Improvement Programme
NHS Improvement
Mobile: 0782 514 2815
Email: catherine.thompson@improvement.nhs.uk