Clearing the air – National study of COPD

							   Clearing the air –
National study of COPD
   Health Care Commission
            2006
             Clearing the air
   National study of care and treatment
    available for people with COPD in England
   Part of wider programme of work
    focussing on long term conditions/chronic
    disease
   Literature review, stakeholder
    consultations, specialist advisors,
    examined hospital activity, focus groups,
    specific aspects of services.
              Key challenges
   Improve diagnosis of COPD – reduce
    misdiagnosis and undiagnosis.
   Greater emphasis by PCTs on structured
    care for COPD.
   Helping people to help themselves. (pul
    rehab)
   Reducing admissions
   Addressing poor prognosis
   Addressing individual needs
   Appropriate treatment for exacerbations
   Access to supportive and palliative care.
         Facts about COPD
   900,000 people diagnosed with
    COPD in the UK and an estimated
    2million undiagnosed.
   Causes more than 30,000 deaths per
    year in UK
   1.4million GP consultations/year
   1 in 8 emergency admissions
    (second largest cause of emergency
    admission)
      National recommendation
   More meaningful indicators to
    measure the outcome of care for
    people with COPD need to be
    developed and monitored routinely.
       Local recommendations
1.   PCTs as commissioners of services
     should lead improvements in care
2.   Strategy should focus on areas of
     greatest social deprivation
3.   PCTs should ensure fair access to care
     by improving accuracy and timeliness of
     diagnosis in primary care.
4.   Explore options for improving support at
     time of diagnosis ( written info/ support
     gps)
     Local recommendations
5. Respiratory networks should establish
   models of structured care in community.
6. PCTs with high rates of emergency
   admission should work with hospital
   teams to review management of these
   patients
7. Develop new initiatives to reduce
   admission and length of stay.
8. Improve and monitor access to pul
   rehab.
9. Monitor access to and provision of
   palliative care for non-malignant disease.
     What will the HCC do next?
1.   Assess and report on performance in
     relation to indicators for the implication
     of NICE guidelines for COPD
2.   Assess and report on progress by trusts
     in meeting targets to reduce emergency
     bed days, and reduce smoking rates.
3.   Report on improvement reviews of
     tobacco control and LTC.
4.   Follow up local concerns about
     performance
5.   Work with DOH to develop improved
     quality indicators for COPD.