Physios Katy Buchan and Lisa Emmett to celebrate the first Home Mechanical Ventilation Day on 20 May

Respiratory physiotherapists Katy Buchan and Lisa Emmett are playing their part in a group that aims to raise awareness of the importance of home mechanical ventilation (HMV).

Katy is a senior respiratory physiotherapist at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, where she is also home non-invasive ventilation lead. Lisa is a specialist respiratory physiotherapist at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

They are members of a committee that helps to run the HMViP (Home Mechanical Ventilation in Partnership) Group, which is celebrating the first World HMV Day this weekend (20 May). The group, which includes patients and former carers as well as a range of other healthcare professionals, aims to raise awareness, share knowledge and improve education among clinicians and HMV users to help them support and represent patients, their families and carers.

HMV can help patients with lung conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and those that restrict the movement of air in and out of the body. These include including obesity, curvature of the spine (kyphoscoliosis), and neuromuscular conditions such as Motor Neurone Disease (MND) and Duchene Muscular Dystrophy.

Katy Buchan's interest led to PhD study

Katy told PhysioUpdate: ‘I have worked with the home ventilation team for the last 15 years and am passionate about facilitating patient independence and improving their quality of life. My PhD research focused on using NIV during exercise in patients with COPD.

‘More recently I have been working to improve the transition journey of patients on ventilation – from paediatrics to adults – both locally with my colleagues at the children’s hospital and nationally with other home ventilation teams.'

More 'va-va-voom'

Katy says that patients often report feeling ‘rejuvenated’ on starting HMV and say they hadn’t realised how unwell they had become.

‘I can think of one patient who said that she had more “va-va-voom”, and many report having more energy to be able to achieve what they want to do in the day – whether that means going back to work, achieving personal goals, or undertaking activities of daily life.'

She added: ‘I believe in ensuring that patients are involved in all aspects of service development, pathways and care, because this is essential to ensure that health services are meeting patient needs.'

HMViP is urging NHS trusts to consider improving HMV access for patients with chronic respiratory failure, citing evidence that it is a cost-effective intervention that can reduce hospitalisation risk and improve symptoms and quality of life in certain patient groups. 

Guidance in the UK and internationally calls for HMV be offered to appropriate patients with COPD. 

Patient experience

Ian Flatt lives in Yorkshire with his young family and was diagnosed with MND in 2019. He was referred to the respiratory team at St James’s University Hospital in Leeds, where he was issued with a home ventilator. 

Rachael, Ian’s wife and carer said: ‘I noticed a difference in Ian straight away. Although to begin with Ian only used the machine for four hours a night, it made him more comfortable and he got a better night’s sleep. The children were a bit uncertain, so we decided that we'd give it a name and now the ventilator is called Vespa which seemed to help them accept it.’

Ian now uses Vespa for about 16 hours a day but has an additional lightweight portable machine that hooks on to his chair, meaning he can enjoy doing what he loves most: being outside. Last year, Ian climbed Snowdon with Vespa, and he hopes to take part in other challenging walking and running events. To find out more, click 

World HMV Day and the HMViP website  are dedicated to the memory of Ronnie Ward, who was a participant in the HOT-HMV trial Ronnie, a former naval serviceman, was diagnosed with COPD in 2014. Using HMV reduced his risk of being hospitalised and enabled him to enjoy several additional years at home in Sussex with his family.

Julie, Ronnie’s wife, said: ‘I can’t stress strongly enough what it meant for us as a family and for Ronnie to have this additional time.’