Exploring acute COPD care at home in East Kent.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Acute care at home in Kent for patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): an evaluative single case study.
IRAS ID
325342
Contact name
Sally Kendall
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 7 months, 31 days
Research summary
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a serious respiratory condition that has no cure and was the third leading cause of death worldwide in 2019. Respiratory conditions including COPD affects one in five people in England and are the third biggest causes of death. People with this condition endure long-term breathing and mobility problems and often experience acute exacerbations that lead to hospitalisation where NHS Kent and Medway CCG had the highest number of emergency hospital admissions for COPD with 2,200 in the financial year ending 2021. COPD has a major impact on quality of life and impaired psychological well-being for both the patient and their carers as well as a large cost to the NHS.
The government has put a strategy in place for improving the care of communities which are disadvantaged. This includes working with Integrated Care Systems to identify inequality and references a range of communities that are significant in Kent including ethnic minority groups, coastal communities, and vulnerable migrants. COPD and acute episodes leading to hospital admissions is one priority for improvement.
Community Nursing teams with training are well placed to manage COPD at home but there is room to explore how this could be improved, thus to help those most in need during acute episodes in order to improve access to care and simultaneously avoid or improve the need for admission to hospital. Existing models in East Kent include the specialist respiratory nursing service that offers a home-based service for the very unwell patient, it demonstrates full integration between acute care in East Kent Hospitals, Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust and Primary Care. This service has been shown to reduce hospital admissions and cost to the NHS but is not extended to patients who do not meet inclusion criteria.
REC name
West of Scotland REC 5
REC reference
23/WS/0074
Date of REC Opinion
31 May 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion