Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

Older people with COPD and those who care for them have different but related problems. Though our home visits the social work department will help COPD sufferers look at life style issues and provide guidance on every day measures that will help manage the illness and reduce periods of exacerbation.

Among other benefits we anticipate that a number of people with breathing problems who have not been diagnosed with COPD will seek treatment leading to a diagnosis, which will help ensure appropriate treatment is provided. As many older people, particularly those with a mining background, see breathing problems as a consequence of aging rather than a specific illness there is often a tendency not to seek treatment, which means that advice, and guidance about managing the illness is not obtained. The under diagnosing of COPD is a recognised problem and one we will address through the project by encouraging those with breathing problems to seek professional medical help.

For carers more information about the illness and ways of alleviating symptoms will enable them to help manage the illness and improve their well being by reducing the helplessness felt by many carers coping with a long term illness of a family member. Information about help sources available linked to activities designed to reduce social exclusion will reduce pressure on carers, helping them to avoid the emotional/health problems associated with being a long term carer.

Overall the carer will be able to provide more informed help and support to the sufferer with reduced stress for themselves. This is intended to both directly help the sufferer by providing immediate and long term additional support and informed help and enable the carer to have a better quality of life and prevent the social exclusion commonly suffered by carers of those with long term life limiting illness.

As part of this support we will be seeking to work with carers after bereavement to develop new social networks. Reflecting the fact that long term carers can be isolated and separated from the wider community as a direct result of their caring role and after bereavement are left isolated and deprived of their main occupation of recent years.

The work will all be linked to our growing community develop activity and is part of CISWO’s commitment to increasing and developing services.