Extract
Breathlessness is a highly prevalent and distressing symptom in advanced disease but there is uncertainty about its treatment. Patients with breathlessness have complex needs, on average experience 13–14 other symptoms (such as pain, fatigue, sleep problems and depression) and frequently attend emergency hospital services [1]. As the best way of organising and delivering a service for the relief of breathlessness is not known, an interdisciplinary service was developed for patients with breathlessness in advanced disease and their carers: the Breathlessness Support Service (BSS) [2]. Here, we report the results of qualitative interviews of patients who received the BSS.
Abstract
New breathlessness support service helps patients with person-centred, individualised care, boosting confidence http://ow.ly/RMIYo
Acknowledgements
We thank all the patients who participated in this research. We also thank everyone who referred patients to this study, especially the Palliative Care, Respiratory Medicine and Physiotherapy Depts at King's College Hospital, London, UK, and the Community Palliative Care teams across Guy's and St Thomas’ Hospitals, London. Thanks to Julie Fuller (Respiratory Medicine, King's College London) and Joanna Davies (Cicely Saunders Institute, King's College London) for providing administrative support during this project.
Footnotes
Support statement: This article presents independent research funded by the Department of Health, National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), under its Research for Patient Benefit Programme (grant reference number PB-PG-PB-PG-0808-17311). The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the National Health Service, the NIHR or the Department of Health. Additional funding was also provided by Cicely Saunders International. The funders had no role in the design and conduct of the study, collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review or approval of the manuscript; or the decision to submit the manuscript for publication. Funding information for this article has been deposited with FundRef.
Conflict of interest: Disclosures can be found alongside the online version of this article at erj.ersjournals.com
- Received February 27, 2015.
- Accepted July 31, 2015.
- Copyright ©ERS 2015