THE PULMONARY rehabilitation service at The James Cook University Hospital is marking its 25th anniversary since treating its first patient on 18 September 1999.
Part of South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the unit consists of a highly skilled team of physiotherapists, an occupational therapist, therapy assistants and dedicated admin staff – who all combine to support patients across Middlesbrough and Redcar.
With more than 1,500 referrals every year, the team currently provides 16 group sessions to each patient suffering from symptoms and disability of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other respiratory conditions.
The service provided has shown to reduce and manage respiratory symptoms of patients such as breathlessness, improving their quality of life, ability to engage in daily activities and do the things that they normally like to do.
Christine Cope
The sessions run by the team consist of classes where patients complete individual and tailored exercises under the specialist care of staff whilst receiving planned advice on how to manage their symptoms and conditions.
Senior specialist physiotherapist Halina Baker was one of the key members involved in the formation of the unit 25 years ago – when only a handful of hospitals in England provided this service.
Halina, who started by offering two group sessions every week along with two staff members, said: “I was instrumental in setting the pulmonary rehabilitation programme up in September 1999, and it brings me so much joy to see how the service has developed with my colleagues over the last 25 years.
“It has made such a difference for the respiratory patient population within our local area, improving quality of life and expanding the services that we can offer as a trust.”
In 2014, the service was granted £300,000 funding from North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board, which helped the unit increase its assessments from 300 to 1,000 patients each year and expand its service to deliver care to more patients whilst recruiting additional staff.
During the pandemic, the service adapted to assess and treat patients with new and innovative techniques which are continued to this day such as offering home-based programmes supported by weekly phone calls.
Patients have regularly shared their feedback on how important the service is for their recovery and hailed the sessions for its person-centric approach.
Two of them are Bernadette Povey, 70, and Christine Cope, 69, who have been attending specialist sessions to help manage their conditions.
“Feels better when it is finished”
Referred by a consultant to assist with her bronchiectasis diagnosis, Bernadette’s first appointment was on 12 July 2024. Since then, she has attended 15 sessions and she has felt motivated after each session.
She said: “The staff are really good, you feel better when it is finished and moreover, you get to meet new people who are suffering from a similar health condition.”
“Get to meet new people”
Explaining what she thinks about these sessions, Christine said: “I love them.”
Christine, who has been diagnosed with COPD and pulmonary fibrosis and suffers from asthma, has credited the staff and sessions as brilliant.
“I am sad when the session comes to an end. You get to meet new people and you get an extra go. I am on oxygen currently but meeting new people through these sessions really helps me out,” added Christine.
Specialist respiratory physiotherapist Andrew Fisher said: “We are currently focused on improving access to pulmonary rehabilitation in areas affected by health inequalities across Middlesbrough and Redcar.
“Patient feedback is excellent with many patients not wanting to leave after the seven-week course in addition to the significant benefits reported by our patients such as being able to walk further, being less breathless, increased confidence.”
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