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A new training directory has been developed by the Long Term Conditions programme team, which is a centralised repository of career competencies and pathways, higher education resources and short courses, to help the NHS workforce develop a career in respiratory disease specialty and expand their clinical expertise.

It aims to provide all health and social care professionals and multidisciplinary teams with the appropriate level of knowledge, skills and experience they need to deliver effective respiratory disease prevention and care to people with respiratory disease, and those at risk of respiratory disease.

The toolkit is a digital version of the Respiratory diseases training guide and addresses a national gap in a central portal for respiratory disease resources.

You can watch this video below. Respiratory disease affects one in five people in England and is the third biggest cause of death and is identified as a clinical priority in the NHS Long Term Plan.

Therefore, it was felt important that NHSE and HEE programme teams and other stakeholders come together in a workshop and identify how as a national programme we can draw on available expertise to help shape the workforce agenda for respiratory disease.

The aims are to understand current priorities for the respiratory disease workforce, the pressures, and challenges they face, suggest solutions to them and identify current barriers to achieving these ambitions and changes. This report provides an overview of the facilitated discussions from an organised workshop held on August 11th, Identifying what the collective short-medium and long-term actions need to be at all levels in addressing workforce challenges for respiratory disease aligned with emerging service priority and needs, including education and training.

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Oxygen — People with severe or advanced COPD can have low oxygen levels in the blood. This condition, known as hypoxemia, can occur even if you do not feel short of breath or have other symptoms. The oxygen level can be measured with a device placed on the finger pulse oximeter or with a blood test arterial blood gas.

People with hypoxemia may be placed on oxygen therapy, which can improve survival and quality of life. If you need oxygen at home, you will have a small tube that goes into your nostrils called a "cannula" and carries oxygen from an oxygen tank or machine. Your health care provider will show you how to use your devices, as well as how and when to clean and replace them.

Supplemental oxygen must never be used while smoking. Oxygen is explosive, and smoking while using oxygen can lead to severe burns. Fatal fires have occurred in people attempting to smoke while using oxygen. Some people with COPD may be prone to hypoxemia during air travel because of the changes in air pressure inside the plane.

If your provider determines that you are at risk for hypoxemia during a flight, oxygen can be prescribed for use during air travel. See "Patient education: Supplemental oxygen on commercial airlines Beyond the Basics ". Endobronchial valves — Endobronchial valves EBVs are small devices that are implanted in the airways using a bronchoscope a tube that is inserted through your mouth or nose and down your throat.

The valves allow air to exit the diseased area but not re-enter. As a result, the healthier parts of the lung are able to do more of the work of breathing. EBVs may be an option for people who continue to have emphysema symptoms despite medication and pulmonary rehabilitation.

Surgery — Surgery, such as lung volume reduction surgery or lung transplantation, may be helpful in reducing symptoms in some people with advanced emphysema. Lung volume reduction surgery involves removing the areas of lung that are most damaged, which allows the remaining lung to expand and function more normally.

This may be an option for people who have severe symptoms after trying all other routine therapies, including pulmonary rehabilitation. Not everyone will benefit from this surgery, and some people may actually become worse. A health care provider may recommend an imaging test, such as a CT scan, to help determine if this procedure is likely to be of benefit.

Lung transplantation may be considered in cases of advanced COPD. If successful, transplantation is likely to improve symptoms. However, lung transplantation has not yet been shown to prolong the life of people with COPD. COPD AND COVID COVID stands for "coronavirus disease People with COVID can have fever, cough, and other symptoms.

In severe cases, it can cause pneumonia and trouble breathing. Some people with COPD are more likely to have serious symptoms if they get COVID If you have COPD, it's especially important to take measures to avoid getting sick.

This includes COVID vaccination, which is one of your best protections from contracting the virus. As people with chronic conditions are still at increased risk for severe disease, even vaccinated individuals may want to consider wearing a well-fitted mask when interacting with groups of individuals indoors.

If you take medications for your COPD, it's important to keep taking them as usual. If you have symptoms of COVID, or think you might have been exposed to the virus, call your health care provider for treatment options.

COPD PROGNOSIS. Although COPD usually worsens over time, it is difficult to predict how quickly it will progress and how long you will live your prognosis.

A number of factors play a role in the severity of COPD symptoms, including whether you continue to smoke, are underweight, or have other medical problems, and how your lungs function during exercise. People with COPD who have less severe symptoms, are a healthy weight, and do not smoke tend to live longer.

The "BODE index" is an example of a tool that clinicians use to predict survival and to make decisions about timing when lung transplantation is being considered.

It involves a calculation using data including body mass index BMI , severity of airflow obstruction on spirometry, degree of shortness of breath with exertion, and distance walked in six minutes. The calculation results in a number that your provider can use to help predict your prognosis.

ADVANCED COPD AND END-OF-LIFE CARE. Although discussions about death and dying can be uncomfortable for patients, family members, and health care providers, the subject is important, especially for people with serious chronic illnesses like COPD.

Advance care planning — Not everyone with COPD will die as a result of their disease. However, it's important to start talking about what you want at the end of your life well before you become seriously ill. Different people have different values and preferences about things like whether they want to be placed on a ventilator breathing machine when they can no longer breathe on their own.

You should let your family and loved ones know how you feel about this. Certain legal documents, called a healthcare proxy and living will, are used to communicate your preferences. The document you need depends upon where you live.

In the United States, state-specific documents can be downloaded from the internet such as www. org and do not require a lawyer. Palliative care — Palliative care refers to treatments that do not cure disease or stop disease progression, but may relieve symptoms and improve quality of life.

People with COPD can benefit from palliative care at any stage of their disease, not only at the end of life.

Palliative care can include treatments to help with breathing problems, cough, fatigue, insomnia, anxiety, depression, and pain. When COPD becomes advanced and symptoms such as difficulty breathing can no longer be controlled with the standard treatments, other medications such as opioids for example, morphine may be offered.

People may also get noninvasive ventilation to help them breathe. Hospice care — Hospice care may be recommended when a person is unlikely to live longer than six months.

It involves treatment of all aspects of a patient and family's needs, including the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual aspects of suffering. Hospice care may be given at home or in a nursing home or hospice facility, and it usually involves multiple care providers, including a physician, registered nurse, nursing aide, chaplain or religious leader, social worker, and volunteers.

Having support and help can ease the burdens for caregivers and families who have a loved one in hospice care. Your healthcare provider is the best source of information for questions and concerns related to your medical problem.

This article will be updated as needed on our web site www. Related topics for patients, as well as selected articles written for healthcare professionals, are also available.

Some of the most relevant are listed below. Patient level information — UpToDate offers two types of patient education materials. The Basics — The Basics patient education pieces answer the four or five key questions a patient might have about a given condition. These articles are best for patients who want a general overview and who prefer short, easy-to-read materials.

Muscle mass management More Breathe Better®. Millions of Americans are living Respiratory health education lung diseases dducation as COPD and Edcation. Help them breathe better. Learn More. CONNECT WITH US. About the Learn More Breathe Better® program A national health education program that raises awareness about lung diseases and conditions and coordinates the Breathe Better Network. Find facts about lung health, including Waist-to-hip ratio and stress levels signs efucation symptoms, how Rspiratory affects breathing, Respiratory health education to manage the disease after a diagnosis common devices used and more. Lung Health Resources. Learn how the lungs work and find printable resources for living with lung conditions such as asthma, COPD and more. Lung Basics. How the Lungs Work.