Breathlessness Support Services in the UK and Republic of Ireland: a survey.

OBJECTIVES

To describe the current provision of Breathlessness Support Services (BSS) across the UK and the Republic of Ireland (RI) and evaluate how services support equity of access for their local populations.

METHODS

An online survey was disseminated to members of the Association for Palliative Medicine of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The survey collected data on service delivery models, professionals involved, interventions offered, outcome measures used, patient demographics and resources provided to support equitable access.

RESULTS

38 BSS responded (32 UK, 6 RI). Most services (89%) were multidisciplinary, commonly involving physiotherapists (92%), occupational therapists (79%) and nurses (53%). Core interventions included education and breathing techniques (100%), relaxation (97%), pacing (95%) and exercise planning (89%). 12 services provided data on patient numbers and 6 services reported ethnicity data.

CONCLUSIONS

This national survey is the first to describe the way BSS are delivered in the UK and RI. Few services reported patient demographic data, limiting our assessment of equity of access. This study supports the need for more BSS across the UK and RI and highlights the need for better recording of demographic data, including ethnicity of service users.