Self-Care Week: How can we support our respiratory patients to take better care of themselves?

Our patients live with their respiratory condition 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and by definition self-manage the vast majority of time. New research from National Voices has concluded that NHS services still do not give people adequate control of their own health and care.

This week is Self-Care Week and a great opportunity to reflect on how as respiratory clinicians we use the time in consultations to help patients to manage their condition(s) as effectively as possible to minimise its impact and to maintain health and wellbeing.

• Do you value the expertise patients have in their condition and encourage patients to own it?
• How much time do you spend on patient education?
• How much do you involve patients in goal setting and problem solving?
• Do your respiratory patients have personalised management plans – how much is it the focal point for consultations?

Coming soon ……

A new campaign from PCRS-UK helping you in these areas, promoting the concept of ‘supported self-management’, looking at how it needs to be everyone’s responsibility and how it can be achieved by taking small steps, working in the very time pressured and resource constrained environments that we as health professionals all face.