A project known as MISSION aims to see if a style of patient care that involves personalized advice and review by a respiratory specialist can improve quality of life for patients.

Patients invited to a MISSION clinic will have the opportunity to have their medication, lung function and inhaler technique checked, to be reviewed by a Respiratory Specialist Doctor and receive personalised advice on how to manage their condition. The aim of this project is to see whether this style of patient care can improve patients’ quality of life and prevent them from being admitted to hospital. It is supported by Wessex Academic Health Science Network (AHSN), a health innovation organisation established to improve health outcomes for people in Hampshire, Dorset, south Wiltshire and the Isle of Wight.

Dr Anthony Leung, Badgerswood GP and project lead explained, “By taking part in this project, Badgerswood is offering better care to patients.We have been able to purchase a spirometer (lung testing machine), which will help our GPs diagnose and monitor people with breathing conditions. We have already received great feedback from patients about this new approach to their care. They say it’s exactly what they need, and avoids lengthy assessment waiting times and unnecessary journeys to Portsmouth.”

Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth has a specialist clinic which enables each patient to see up to 10 specialists in one day. Previously, they would be referred by their GP, wait up to 12 weeks for a consultant appointment and then receive ongoing appointments over a period of 3-4 months. This new method condenses the whole process into a half day assessment clinic where all the tests for investigating COPD conditions can be done in one session. Patients are correctly diagnosed earlier,receive the correct treatment, and, by learning how to manage their condition better, ultimately prevent flare-ups of their disease and stay out of hospital.

Read the full story at www.wessexahsn.org.uk