The Morecambe Bay Respiratory Network (MBRN) and University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT) are today supporting World COPD Day (Wednesday 19 November).
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is the third leading cause of death worldwide, yet many people remain unaware they are living with it.
This year’s theme, ‘Short of breath, think COPD,’ highlights the importance of recognising the early signs of this common yet often underdiagnosed condition. COPD early diagnosis and appropriate treatment can significantly improve quality of life and long-term outcomes for people.
Dr Pat Haslam, Lead for the MBRN, said: “COPD is a condition that affects more than 7,000 people in our region and we suspect many more could have it and not be aware. World COPD Day is a vital opportunity to raise awareness and encourage people to seek help early.”
Karen Donaldson, Respiratory Advanced Clinical Practitioner and Physiotherapist with UHMBT’s Community Respiratory Team and the MBRN, said: “We often see how early intervention and the right support can make a huge difference for people living with COPD.
“This year’s theme is a powerful reminder to ‘think COPD’ when patients present with breathlessness or persistent respiratory symptoms, and a reminder to offer patients struggling with COPD a referral to Pulmonary Rehabilitation (PR), which is a highly effective treatment for breathlessness and improving health outcomes in COPD.”
The MBRN and UHMBT are committed to improving respiratory health across the Morecambe Bay area. They encourage anyone experiencing symptoms such as shortness of breath, chronic cough, or frequent chest infections, especially those with a history of smoking or exposure to environmental pollutants, to speak to their GP or healthcare provider.
The Community Respiratory Team is having a team development day on Wednesday 19 November to celebrate both World COPD Day and the 25th Anniversary of Community Respiratory Services in Morecambe Bay, which began in Lancaster in 2000 with the first pilot of PR.
The Community Respiratory Team has grown over the last 25 years and has received some additional funding over 2024/25 and 2025/26 as part of the MBRN expansion, to increase provision of services to help people with COPD and other lung diseases to manage their conditions.
With this recent funding, the Bay-wide team has made the health benefits of PR even more accessible to the people of Morecambe Bay. The team now provides five large scale rolling PR programmes in our major towns, a rotating rural village programme of PR, home-based PR and early PR after a COPD hospital admission.
In addition to PR, the team also provides respiratory physiotherapy, oxygen and nursing services in clinics and homes, as well as a new advanced respiratory care at home service, supporting people with complex respiratory and ventilation needs. The event on 19 November will be the first time that all of the team’s 56 staff will be in the same place at the same time, marking the local commitment to improving provision of respiratory services to the people of Morecambe Bay.
The MBRN also supports primary care services such as GP practices to improve awareness of diagnosing and managing lung diseases like COPD, improving the access to diagnostics like Spirometry and FeNO (a simple breath test that measures nitric oxide levels to help diagnose and manage asthma) in General Practice and providing monthly integrated multidisciplinary team meetings.
For more information about the MRBN, please go to Morecambe Bay Respiratory Network
For further details and access to World COPD Day resources, visit www.goldcopd.org