Our Respiratory Service provides treatments such as pulmonary rehabilitation, respiratory physiotherapy, community chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) nursing and home oxygen assessment to people in West Cheshire.
To access respiratory service, please speak to your GP, social worker or any other health professional working with you. They will be able to refer you if they think our service can help.
Our contact number is: 01244 397243
Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is an exercise and education programme designed for people living with a lung condition that makes them breathlessness. The Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust PR course lasts six weeks with two sessions per week held in local community and leisure centres in Ellesmere Port and Chester. The sessions include individually prescribed exercise and an education program delivered by experienced health care professionals specialising in respiratory care.
PR is designed to help people with chronic lung conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), bronchiectasis and lung fibrosis. It is particularly beneficial for people who are limited by shortness of breath and those who have noticed coping with everyday activities, for example, going up and down stairs, has become a problem.
Please note that being on portable oxygen DOES NOT stop you from attending a PR programme.
Pulmonary Rehabilitation is a twice weekly treatment programme over 6 weeks and is made up of:
- Exercise classes designed for people with long-term lung conditions
- Advice on managing your lung condition and breathlessness
Exercise sessions focus on building your strength and endurance by using arm and leg exercises, walking and weights. Please wear suitable footwear and comfortable clothes that you can move freely in.
Education session topics include:
- Coping with breathlessness
- How the lungs work and understanding your lung condition
- Managing chest infections
- Managing anxiety
- Relaxation techniques
- How to clear mucus from your chest
- Medications and inhalers to help your breathing
- Energy Conservation
- The importance of, and continuing with, exercise
- Healthy eating
- Benefits and support services.
Carers and partners are welcome to attend the sessions with you.
PR programmes are delivered in groups of 8-16 people and each programme is run by an experienced PR team of trained health care professionals. We also have patient volunteers who have undertaken the programme themselves in the past. The volunteers attend the sessions to provide assistance and support with a unique insight into what living with a chronic lung condition entails. Each venue has parking by the entrance of the venue and is accessible by public transport. Unfortunately we are unable to provide transport.
Arkell Scouting and Community Centre89 Upton GrangeUpton Dene Chester CH2 1BG
Tuesday and Thursday
Northgate Arena Victoria RoadChesterCH2 2AU
Tuesday and Friday
Ellesmere Port Sports VillageStanney LaneEllesmere PortCH65 9LB
Monday and Wednesday
We appreciate that group sessions are not for everyone. For other ways to complete the pulmonary rehabilitation programme please see the Pulmonary Rehabilitation options tab.
You will be given an appointment for a telephone assessment. This will last for around 60 minutes and within that time the clinician will ask you questions about the symptoms you experience and about how your condition affects you on a daily basis.
Based on the outcome of this assessment you will be invited to attend an appointment at the PR venue of your choice. You will be asked to do a walk test on level ground within the assessment centre and the team will monitor your oxygen saturations and heart rate. Please ensure you bring any walking aid with you. If you have oxygen prescribed for walking around, please also bring this with you. It is helpful if you can bring any reading glasses with you to this appointment as you will also be asked to complete some questionnaires.
If you are attending a group setting you will be given a start date for the 6 week programme where you will be expected to commit to attending 2 sessions a week. A home exercise programme will also be supplied.
You are welcome to attend all appointments with a partner or carer.
Virtual Pulmonary Rehabilitation (Rehab guru): Following your assessment, you may decide that you want to join the virtual programme. You will exercise at home but log in to perform and chart your exercise sessions via an app on your phone, computer or tablet.
You will need an email address to be able to access this service and we will show you how to do this when you attend for assessment. It is also possible to use your phone to access this service, although many people find that such a small screen can be a problem. Let us know if this is your preferred option and you would like to join rehab guru.
We will review you in person and also by phone over the six weeks of the programme.
Home programme: A visit to your home may be offered if you are housebound or do not feel comfortable in a group setting. When the therapist attends your home to complete the assessment you will also be expected to participate in an exercise test while the therapist monitors your oxygen levels and heart rate.We ask that all pets are secured in the property whilst the staff complete the visit.
Your therapist will visit between the hours of 9am to 4pm. Your family can be present if you wish.
If completing at home, you will be contacted via phone or face to face for updates on your progress.
Evidence shows that accessing a PR programme improves peoples’ ability to walk further, helps them feel less tired and less breathless when carrying out day to day activities. 90% of people who complete a PR programme have higher activity levels and report an improved quality of life. It is important that you attend all 12 sessions to ensure maximum benefit.
In order to access this service, you must have a referral from a health care professional, this can include your GP, Practice Nurse, hospital respiratory team, Community Respiratory Team or care community team. We do not currently accept self-referrals into the service but if you have any queries please contact us:
Telephone: 01244 397243
Email: cwp.
Address: Pulmonary Rehabilitation Service, Room 74 1829 Building, Countess of Chester health Park, Liverpool Road, Chester, CH2 1BQ
Helpful resources:
“I was really worried at first about the exercise but the team were very re-assuring and I always felt in control”
“Amazing can’t believe what a difference it has made to me, I wish I had done this years ago”
“ The team are always cheerful and encouraging, the talks are excellent I have learnt so much”
- We will work as a team to promote the benefits of Pulmonary Rehabilitation and embed the service as an essential part of the management approach to patients with a chronic respiratory disease in our locality
- We will seek to ensure that patients have a positive experience whilst under our care and become more confident in self-managing their condition
- We will aim to reduce barriers to participation and positively take action to reduce health inequalities
- Our ethos is to work with partners from all local sectors, so we have an integrated offer for patients which provides them with choice
- We see each patient as an individual and seek to provide a personalised programme of care that meets their requirements, treating patients and carers with respect and dignity
- We will aim to provide a service that is both timely and safe for patients acknowledging there are constraints that we must work within
- We will as a team strive to ensure continuous improvement and look to learn and apply Best Practice where it will benefit our patients
- We want to improve health professionals understanding of which patients will benefit from Pulmonary Rehabilitation
- We want to improve our patient’s health-related quality of life and will demonstrate the impact on patients’ health outcomes
- We want to ensure patient’s and carers are fully involved in the design of services so we learn from their lived experience.
Monday to Friday: 9.00am-5.00pm
