The COPD Pathway with Jonathon Will and Tom Fardon

In this session we will examine a new pathway which is emerging within Scotland and north of England. The Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) pathway has been designed to both specialise treatment and expedite specialist care to this cohort of patients. NHS data shows that in 2020/21, approximately 1.17 million people in England have been diagnosed with COPD, which is around 1.9% of the population.  To host the conversation I have Jonathon Will with me. Jonathon is a registered Paramedic working with the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS), he has also worked as an Emergency Care Paramedic within various Emergency Department Resuscitation units. His last two years has been spent working as the Clinical Effectiveness Lead within SAS and a National improvement Advisor for urgent and unscheduled care within NHS Scotland. Tom Fardon is a Respiratory Consultant within NHS Tayside, with a specialist interest in airways disease (COPD, Asthma and Bronchiectasis). Tom is also the clinical lead for the managed clinical network within Tayside and the chair of the national advisory group for respiratory medicine, also the lead for respiratory care action plan within NHS Scotland. He also leads the Scottish Respiratory advisory committee to initiate the recommendations within the respiratory care action plan. In the conversation we talk about:  * The pathology of COPD; what’s going on with these patients and how these patients normally present to the ambulance service.  * Physiological tolerance and adaptation over time.  * Why this pathway has been designed? (what is the current problem) * How the key clinicians and specialisms have been brought together * End points that the pathway serves  * Improvements to the current services * What tiers of patients this pathway serves  * What happens to the life-threatening COPD patients  * What a patient could expect when they go through the pathway.  * What the future holds  * Take homes messages   Please find more about the pathway here: https://www.consultantconnect.org.uk/copd-pathway-tayside/ Consultant Connect are partly responsible for supporting this pathway and can be found here: https://www.consultantconnect.org.uk/  This podcast is brought to you in association with BHA Medical. BHA medical source, supply and implement innovative medical technology and solutions across the globe. BHA provide market leading services in covid 19 testing kits, medical products, smart technology and consultancy. One of their most innovative recent products is the D heart: D-Heart is the first portable ECG device that is simple to use, clinically reliable, affordable and makes use of a smartphone. It allows anyone to perform a hospital-level ECG in total autonomy with the option to send the results to the 24/7 tele-cardiology service or to your trusted doctor. D-Heart allows you to track your heart health, explain possible unclear symptoms or to monitor the efficacy of medication. D-Heart will allow you to become an engaged partner in the management of your health. You can record an ECG whenever you have symptoms and share it with your trusted physician and to establish a shared decision-making process. The image-processing and artificial intelligence will guide you to the correct electrode placement by showing you an image of your own chest with virtual marks placed where you should apply the electrodes.  More information on the D heart can be found here: https://www.bha-medical.com/d-heart-ecg-mobile-device  More information on BHA medical can be found here: https://www.bha-medical.com/