Formerly Auckland DHB Pulmonary Rehabilitation

Pulmonary Rehabilitation "The forgotten treatment" for patients with COPD

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic lung disease affecting more than 6.1% of smokers over the age of 40 in New Zealand. If you have been diagnosed with COPD and have symptoms such as breathlessness, fatigue, anxiety and depression that affect your everyday life, then pulmonary rehabilitation is likely to benefit you. If unsure then ask your GP about this free service offered in the community by Auckland City Hospital and their community partners; Whānau Ora.

Pulmonary Rehabilitation is a free 8 week group programme for patients with chronic lung diseases (such as COPD) who have developed physical and emotional symptoms which affect their everyday lives and limit their function.

It is a comprehensive programme that has many benefits such as improving adherence to other treatments, decreasing frequency and severity of your symptoms (including breathlessness) and helping you to manage your condition more effectively. It will improve your mood and motivation and decrease your dependency on others around you by increasing your participation and independence through exercise and other self management strategies.

Pulmonary Rehabilitation is now medically considered "The Treatment of Choice" when it comes to chronic obstructive lung disease (particularly COPD) and is beneficial to many other chronic lung diseases as well.

What does Pulmonary Rehabilitation include?

As a patient you might feel that walking 100 metres on a flat level with stops to catch your breath means that the idea of attending an exercise based programme is impossible. The benefits recorded in the scientific literature show the benefits listed below can be achieved even in the most severe COPD patients. The programme is individually adapted to your specific needs to help you achieve some of these benefits.

The programme will include the following to maximise the benefits to each patient:

1. a comprehensive and individual one to one assessment prior to beginning the programme
2. a supervised exercise class that runs twice a week, for 8 weeks and is individually prescribed and delivered in a friendly and fun atmosphere by a specially trained team to meet your particular needs. You will begin at a safe starting point for you
3. long term self management advice and education specific to your needs (including exercises you can do with family at home during the time of your programme)
4. re-assessment following the programme to measure your personal benefits against the goals you have identified.
5. 3 month follow up   

What benefits can you expect from attending Pulmonary Rehabilitation?

It is well documented in the medical literature that pulmonary rehabilitation can:

1. reduce frequency and severity of breathlessness at rest and on exertion
2. improve quality of life
3. reduce number of hospital admissions and days spent in hospital
4. improve effective use of medication and adherence to other medical treatments
5. improve mood and motivation
6. reduce dependency on others
7. improve your daily function by improving muscle strength and function, cardiovascular fitness and exercise endurance.
8. improve control over your symptoms
9. reduce the number of urgent and routine clinician visits

Community Partnership

While the Greenlane physiotherapy outpatient department delivers pulmonary rehabilitation at the Greenlane Clinical Centre, the ADHB has engaged with a community partner, the Whānau Ora Group. to provide pulmonary rehabilitation in a community setting.

Breath of Life (Hau-Ora) is a Pulmonary Rehabilitation programme provided by a team of physiotherapists, nurses and healthcare assistants. It is a social, fun, interactive 8 week programme that includes exercise and education sessions for patients with COPD, Bronchiectasis, Interstitial Lung Disease, Asthma and Pulmonary Hypertension. Oxygen is on site for patients who need it.

Education topics covered by the course include inhaler use and technique, breathing techniques, sputum clearance, appropriate diet and mental health. The presenters include physiotherapists, pharmacists, dietitians, psychologists and doctors. The programme is run twice a week at Glenn Innes and Mt Roskill.

Send patient referrals for the Glen Innes and Mt Roskill programmes to hau-ora@toa.org.nz