What were we asked to look at

Community based respiratory care services for patients with chronic respiratory conditions.

SHTG will look into the clinical and cost-effectiveness of community based management of respiratory conditions in NHSScotland. Community respiratory teams are multidisciplinary teams, including physiotherapies, respiratory nurses, dieticians, pharmacists, healthcare support workers, and others who support patients with respiratory diseases in the community. The team provides personalised care (setting individualised SMART goals) by educating patients and carers on disease self-management and other strategies in order to manage exacerbations and avoid hospital admissions. Additionally, the service can support early discharge for hospitalised patients in order to reduce the length of stay.

Why is this important

COPD was the third most common reason for hospitalisation in Scotland in 2016.  The Scottish Government advocates for reduction in unnecessary hospitalisations by providing a more personalised community care approach (Scottish Government 2020 Policy vision).

There is a clear link between deprivation levels and prevalence of COPD and frequency of admissions. However, there is variability in the provision of this service across Scotland currently, which may cause health inequalities.

Referred by

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

Project Status

In Progress