Pulmonary rehabilitation

You will be required to undergo an initial assessment prior to taking part in a course which will include checking your medical history and medication. You will also be required to carry out a physical assessment (which will include taking your blood pressure, oxygen levels and completing a sit to stand test and / or a walk test). This assessment should take approximately one hour to complete.

You are very welcome to invite a friend or family member to be present during your assessment.

If you have been prescribed ambulatory oxygen, then you will be required to use this during your assessment so please bring it with you.

If you have a GTN spray, blue inhaler or walking aid then please also bring these with you.

Following your initial assessment, you can expect to start your pulmonary rehabilitation course within four weeks.

Pulmonary rehabilitation may not be suitable for people with:

• Significant and limiting musculoskeletal conditions (e.g. severe arthritis)
• Unstable angina
• Acute left ventricular failure (LVF)
• Uncontrolled hypertension
• Uncontrolled cardiac arrhythmias
• Aortic stenosis
• Abdominal aortic aneurysm

If during your assessment there are underlying health issues or physical issues which mean that it would not be safe for you to exercise, then you may still benefit from us referring you to one of the following:

• Respiratory Physiotherapy Clinic which are based at satellite clinics across the West of Suffolk. You can be referred to these clinics for advice or taught techniques to help with chest clearance, breathlessness management, cough suppression and other such issues.

• Other community led support services such as OneLife Suffolk and Breathe Easy support groups. The Lung and Asthma UK (formally known as the British Lung Foundation) is also available for telephone support and online advice.

For those of you who are scoring an MRC of 1, and are only getting breathless on strenuous exercise, we would recommend signposting you to:

• Our respiratory exercise group if you are struggling to get back into regular exercise

• The MyCOPD app to exercise at home

• ‘Exercise on Prescription’ classes held at your local Abbeycroft Leisure centre.

All of our pulmonary rehabilitation courses are run by a physiotherapist and an Assistant Rehabilitation Practitioner.

Face-to-face courses: These courses are usually held in local community centres or leisure centres. In West Suffolk they are currently available in the Haverhill, Sudbury, Mildenhall, Brandon, Newmarket and Bury St Edmunds areas.

Each class is approximately two hours in length and consists of an hour of gentle exercise, followed by a session of education. They are usually attended by up to 16 people of varying abilities and ages.

Face-to-face classes are unique as they give you the opportunity to meet other people with similar breathing problems, who may be trying to cope with similar daily challenges.

Please note that you are required to provide your own transport to and from these classes

Home exercise programmes: These programmes can be completed from your own home. You will be required to complete your exercises twice per week, on two separate days, and you will be supplied with education leaflets which you can read as you go along. You will be telephoned once a week by your physiotherapist or an assistant to review your exercises and progress them as is appropriate. They will also be able to discuss any questions you may have regarding the education leaflets.

Virtual classes: These classes can be completed from your own home. They are run ‘live’ and require you to have access to a PC, laptop, tablet or Smart phone. You must have your own e-mail address, access to wifi and your device must have a working webcam and microphone in order for you to take part. There will be a maximum of six patients joining each session and the class will last a maximum of two hours. This will include an hour of gentle exercise followed by an education session. Please note that these classes only run if we have six or more patients requesting them.

Please note: If you have been prescribed ambulatory oxygen therapy you must wear this whilst exercising in any of the above three courses

You are strongly recommended to continue some form of exercise after you have finished a course of pulmonary rehabilitation, in order to maintain the improvements made.

This may be in the form of you continuing with your own exercise regime at home, but for those that prefer, we can refer you on to your local leisure centre where they run specific classes for people with medical conditions.

Yes. You can be referred for a course of pulmonary rehabilitation once per year, should you wish to attend again. Just ask your GP, consultant, respiratory nurse or physiotherapist to refer you again. Alternatively, you can self-refer via our website.

• Continuing to exercise after pulmonary rehabilitation
• Warming up and cooling down exercises
• COPD and other lung conditions
• Chest infections - signs and symptoms
• Lung anatomy
• Importance of exercising with a lung condition
• Smoking - how does it affect me
• Anxiety and relaxation

Patients may be referred for one of our courses by their consultant, GP, COPD nurse, respiratory nurse specialist or physiotherapist. Once referred, the patient will be triaged and placed on a waiting list.

• Please ensure all referral forms are completed with as much detail as possible, especially with regards to medical history, as sometimes this is the only information that we have access to.
• Please also make sure that your patient wishes to attend pulmonary rehabilitation and meets the criteria to attend before referring them.
• Any referral forms that are not filled out correctly may have to be returned which may delay your patient taking part in a course.
• Patients can self-refer into pulmonary rehabilitation here: URefer

Please refer by the following routes:

• Email via CCC at suffolk.ccc@esneft.nhs.uk
• Telephone CCC on 0300 1232425
• Clinic letter to the CCC
• PR Referral form found on Evolve or DXS referral system
• Ask the patient to self refer via URefer
• Or by post to East Suffolk and North East Essex NHS Foundation Trust, Care Co-ordination Centre, 5 Constantine Road, Ipswich, IP1 2DH.

Useful resources

Pulmonary Rehabilitation Information for Referrers