Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): best practice guide

7. COPD Workshop at National Planning Event

The group's meetings and workstreams culminated in a dedicated COPD Session at the 6 Essential Actions to Improve Unscheduled Care event in Edinburgh on 18 May 2017 where all those working to improve patient flow and experience were invited to participate in a number of different workshops, including one focusing on COPD.

The COPD session was led and facilitated by the national group and was used as a means whereby representatives from different regions could network and share their experience around optimal COPD pathway management but also as a scoping exercise for the COPD National Group to establish what services existed across the country.

The group were given a scenario to focus attention on an individual patient living with COPD (see below scenario details) who experiences a mild exacerbation of his condition and feedback was received from frontline clinicians, executive teams, service improvement managers, primary and secondary care, patients and stakeholders on the basis of the following questions:

1. What services exist in your area to support management of COPD at home, to reduce ED attendances and hospital admissions and to reduce length of stay?

2. What services and initiatives might you develop to improve the COPD patient pathway in your area?