Your NHS journey

Who's who?

Meet the team whose help will be on offer:

1. The GP

   Your GP is likely to be your first port of call. He or she will ask you about your symptoms, your smoking history, and your lifestyle. The GP will also carry out some simple tests and if these suggest you have COPD, will probably refer you to a specialist in the hospital. If you smoke, your GP may also put you in touch with a stop smoking counsellor.

2. A respiratory consultant

   This is a hospital-based doctor who specialises in diagnosing and treating lung problems, including COPD. Your respiratory consultant will oversee your treatment programme and may refer you to other healthcare professionals for extra help and support.

3. Stop smoking counsellor

   This is someone who has been specially trained to help people give up smoking. He or she can advise you on a quitting method that is most suited to you, including the type of medication you may need to help crush any cravings you have while you’re quitting.

4. An occupational therapist

   An occupational therapist specialises in helping people manage their day-to-day activities and adapt their lifestyle to minimise the impact of the condition on their home and work life.

5. A physiotherapist

   A physiotherapist may help clear your chest of mucus and phlegm and may show you some simple exercises you can do at home to help keep your lungs clear.

Seeing your GP

If you have trouble breathing and you think you may have COPD it’s important that you see your GP as soon as possible. To find out if you have COPD, your GP will ask you about your symptoms and will examine you and listen to your chest with a stethoscope. Your GP may also carry out some simple tests to help diagnose COPD, and also to eliminate other conditions such as asthma. These include:

1. Spirometry

   This tells you how well your lungs work. You will be asked to breathe into a spirometer – this machine measures the volume of air you can breathe out in one second, and the total amount of air you breathe out. Your results are then compared with the normal figures for people of your age to see if you have any lung damage.

2. Blood test

   You may have a blood test taken to see if you have anaemia which can make you feel tired and lacking in energy. This can worsen your symptoms of COPD. A blood test may also be used to look for a condition called polycythaemia – an excess of red blood cells that can arise due to damaged lungs.

At the hospital

You may be referred to a hospital because your GP would like you to have a chest X-ray or a CT scan, or both to help diagnose COPD and rule out other conditions.