Improving the COPD care experience Hywel Dda Local Health Board
- Improvement project
- Patient experience
- Community and voluntary
- Integrated care
- Person-centred care
- Patient and Family-centred Care
- Run by the Hywel Dda Local Health Board.
- Aimed at improving care for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) and reducing unnecessary hospital admissions.
- Looked at the whole care experience, cutting across acute, primary and community boundaries.
- Specifically focused on discharge from hospital so patients would feel safe and well informed.
Patients with COPD live with a chronic condition that can flare up at certain times and cause a hospital admission. This project looked at the whole care experience to try and improve support for patients and reduce the need for hospital admissions.
The project had five main aims:
- Engage health care professionals with the Patient and Family Centred Care methodology.
- Enable patients to remain well and manage their condition with access to ongoing support.
- Align services to the needs of patients and make them responsive to individual requirements.
- Give patients access to 24/7 support and advice.
- Provide an appropriate response in an emergency.
A multi-disciplinary team (covering primary, secondary and community health care as well as social care) implemented a number of measures that would help improve patient experience and reduce hospital admissions, including:
- improving communications between primary and secondary care
- agreed care plans and key workers for patients to ensure continuity and oversight of care
- a minimum standard of agreed care for all patients with COPD (eg annual flu vaccination, and identifying barriers to receiving it)
- a referral protocol for all patients with COPD to pulmonary rehab and/or a self-management programme
- information and support for patients to manage their condition (including help self-checking symptoms using a sputum colour check card, better understanding of individual triggers and appropriate responses, telehealth and text messaging, ‘emergency packs’ including stand by antibiotics, and possible further support eg through a breathlessness clinic)
- the ability to discharge direct from A&E with support
- setting a maximum stay in hospital.
Further reading
Work with us
We look for talented and passionate individuals as everyone at the Health Foundation has an important role to play.
View current vacanciesThe Q community
Q is an initiative connecting people with improvement expertise across the UK.
Find out more