There is an estimated 380,000 people living with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in Ireland. Yet only 110,000 people are thought to have had a formal diagnosis.  Unfortunately, at least 1,500 people die of COPD each year and over 15,000 people are admitted to hospital with the disease¹.

Against this backdrop, and marking World COPD Day on Wednesday November 20, COPD Support Ireland, has published COPD & Me: an essential guide to living with COPD, full of information, advice and tips, from diagnosis and treatment, to exercise and nutrition, to mental health and well-being. The charity is also embarking on a nationwide COPD & Me Roadshow visiting towns and cities around the country, to spread the word about COPD.

Associate Professor Stanley Miller, Consultant Respiratory Physician and Chair of COPD Support Ireland, explains COPD, its symptoms, and diagnosis:
“COPD is an umbrella term that includes both emphysema, which is damage to the air sacs in the lungs, and chronic bronchitis, which is inflammation of the airways. This is where air moves into the lungs reasonably well, but there is difficulty or obstruction to the air moving out of the lungs efficiently, which causes people with COPD to feel breathless. The diagnosis of COPD is made by identifying the symptoms of shortness of breath and long-standing cough, with or without phlegm, along with a risk factor such as smoking, and then confirming the diagnosis with a breathing test called spirometry. While COPD is not curable, it is treatable. By combining health professional management with self-management strategies, people with COPD can go a long way to living the life they wish to live.”

Free Spirometry Test
The COPD & Me Roadshow will see a team of COPD health professionals visit Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Newbridge and Mullingar to offer free spirometry testing – a simple and painless breathing test. Full details of locations and dates can be found at www.copd.ie

Spirometry is where a person breathes into a device called a spirometer, which measures the amount of air a person can blow out of their lungs in one second, and the total amount of air a person can blow out, to see if there is an obstruction to breathing air out of the lungs.

The test will be performed by a respiratory physiologist, with a specialist healthcare professional also on hand to provide health information and advise people on next steps. COPD Support Ireland advises anyone with symptoms of breathlessness and ongoing cough, with or without phlegm, to ask their GP about having a spirometry test performed. GP practices in many places around the country now have direct access to HSE Spirometry Services testing in their local Integrated Care Hubs.

Separately, local COPD Support Ireland support group volunteers will be organising COPD & Me information stands in Tallaght, Carlow town, Castlebar, Portlaoise, Drogheda, Sligo, Galway, and Waterford city. Local volunteers will be on hand to provide details of local COPD support and exercise groups and other COPD information.

Hoping to be Back in Play
For TV celebrity cook and COPD Support Ireland ambassador, Catherine Leyden, being diagnosed with COPD was tough but she hopes to one day get back on the golf course:
“I was a lifelong smoker. I started late, at the age of 21, but I became completely addicted. Back then, it was trendy to smoke and I would have been smoking up to 60 a day. I remember about six years ago I was feeling very breathless and was coughing a lot. I went to the GP who referred me to a consultant. After undertaking some tests, I was told that I had COPD. It was so upsetting.

“COPD has deprived me of taking part in normal family activities. I can’t go for walks or play golf because of my shortness of breath. I last played a game of golf eight years ago. If I go for a walk, I keep having to stop to catch my breath. I always make sure to bring my inhaler with me and take a puff when I need it. My goal for the future is to improve my breathing and stay alive. That’s why I intend to join a COPD Support Ireland exercise group in the very near future, as I’m told the more I do, the more I will be able to do and, who knows, I may yet get back on the golf course!”

Oblivious to Presence of COPD
Joan Johnston, General Manager, COPD Support Ireland, is urging people to become more familiar with the symptoms of COPD, and to get checked out if they have concerns:
“We know that so many people have COPD in this country, yet the vast majority have no idea. This is possibly because they are putting symptoms down to getting older or because they are in the early stages of disease and symptoms are not yet obvious to them. However, we do know that early diagnosis means we can do more to improve quality of life. Too many people are suffering unnecessarily and dying prematurely from a disease that is preventable and treatable.

“That’s why World COPD Day is so important in shining a spotlight on this disease, its symptoms and risk factors, and also highlights what we can do to mind ourselves better if we have a breathing problem. If you have ongoing breathlessness and a cough, with or without phlegm, do get checked out by your GP and ask about a spirometry breathing test. If you receive, or have already had a diagnosis of COPD, I’d encourage you to join COPD Support Ireland. There is so much we can offer to support you.”

Prof. Stanley Miller also highlights the additional HSE services for COPD that are now available to patients following GP referral:
“Specialist HSE respiratory teams in Integrated Care Hubs are helping thousands of people with COPD to be treated closer to home. Prevention, early detection, slowing of disease progression, and providing the best support for people to manage their COPD, are the aims of the hubs. Integrated Respiratory Teams deliver care closer to where people live, in line with the Sláintecare vision of ‘Right Care, Right Place, and Right Time’. Since January 2023, there have been 43,000 patient contacts with integrated respiratory services, shifting care away from hospitals, while there have been 15,000 patient contacts with pulmonary rehabilitation, helping to empower people to manage their condition.”

 COPD Advice Line
Anyone worried about COPD can call the COPD Advice Line on Freefone 1800 832 146 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm) to receive a call back from a respiratory health professional who can answer questions and refer people to local supports.

The COPD & Me Roadshow is supported by GSK, Vitalograph, AstraZeneca & A Menarini.

The COPD & Me Roadshow Coming to a Location Near You

COPD & Me Information Stand Locations

ENDS