Hard work pays off for senior physio Zoe Styles and colleagues as service gains RCP accreditation
Senior physiotherapist Zoe Styles has voiced her pride on hearing that Nottingham CityCare’s pulmonary rehabilitation service has gained accreditation from the Royal College of Physicians (RCP).
Zoe said: ‘We are extremely proud as a team to have achieved RCP accreditation. It shows that we are a high-quality service focused on delivering safe and effective care.'
Zoe and her colleagues support patients with conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by providing them with education and exercises that are tailored to their individual needs and help them achieve their goals. Topics include daily activities such as walking further, managing breathlessness, walking up and down stairs and carrying shopping, Zoe explained.
‘As well as improving quality of life, a big focus for pulmonary rehabilitation is preventing hospital admissions. Without these sessions, patients are more likely to be readmitted to hospital,’ Zoe added.
Nottingham CityCare, the biggest provider of NHS community health services in the city, delivers dedicated pulmonary rehabilitation classes at five sites. The pulmonary rehabilitation team is part of the integrated respiratory and oxygen at home service. Accreditation from the RCP demonstrates that the team is working to national quality standards for safety, patient experience and patient-centred care.
The RCP’s assessment report says the multidisciplinary team should be congratulated for the hard work involved in providing evidence and embedding the standards into their service.
Helen Woodiwiss, CityCare’s director of operations, said: ‘I want to thank everyone for their hard work and dedication to our patients. I know they worked so hard following an initial assessment, acting on a number of recommendations from the assessment team.'
Helen added: ‘Our patients and their families can now be assured they are receiving high-quality care based on their individual needs and that the team is always looking for ways to further improve the service they deliver.'
Case studies
Terry Iles, 83, was diagnosed with COPD after being admitted to hospital with high levels of carbon dioxide in his bloodstream. Doctors told him he was lucky to be alive.
After being discharged from hospital, Terry received oxygen for 16 hours a day and began attending pulmonary rehab classes 12 months later. These have made a ‘phenomenal difference’, Terry said.
‘When I started the oxygen saturation level in my blood was down to 88 per cent. By the time I had finished the first set of classes, it was up to 94 per cent. It dropped slightly but thanks to further pulmonary rehabilitation sessions it is now back at 94 per cent and remaining steady.'
Terry added: ‘I can do normal things again. I can walk reasonable distances, nothing too strenuous but I can get to the local shops.’
John Lea, 69, from Sherwood,was hospitalised three times in 2019 with chest infections after a long history of smoking. After finally quitting, he was referred for rehab classes, which, he said has ‘worked wonders’.
‘I was very worried about how this self-inflicted condition was going to affect the rest of my life. The pulmonary rehabilitation classes taught me how to control my breathing. I learned not to panic. They also showed me the benefits of exercise – the more you can do, the better you feel and the classes were tailored to my condition and level of ability.'
John added: ‘Thanks to pulmonary rehabilitation I am no longer frightened about how COPD is going to affect my life, I feel much more robust and positive about the future.’
Two videos are available for viewers to find out more about how Zoe’s team helps patients. See: https://youtu.be/a8OT8o3_kqQ and https://youtu.be/GQUFgb7IYIk
We are extremely proud as a team to have achieved RCP accreditation. It shows that we are a high-quality service focused on delivering safe and effective care [Zoe Styles]
Author: Ian A McMillan
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