Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke (NICHS) has announced it has received substantial funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, which has been made possible thanks to National Lottery players, for a vital three-year community respiratory support programme. With respiratory disease being the third leading cause of death here, the funding comes at a critical time for tackling one of the most significant health challenges facing Northern Ireland.
Ursula Ferguson, Director of Care at Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke, says; “We are delighted to have been awarded £500,000 for our Breathing Better programme which is at the top of the possible funding scale, showing the importance with which The National Lottery Community Fund views our work. We would like to thank The National Lottery Community Fund, which has been made possible due to National Lottery players, for this award.”
“The funding will help us implement a three-year community respiratory support programme, Breathing Better, which is focused on self-management, wellbeing, peer connection, community capacity and health inequalities. This is absolutely vital given the facts more than 220,000 people are estimated to be living with respiratory illness across Northern Ireland and it accounts for 12.5% of deaths- numbers that will probably surprise a lot of people. There are also significant levels of undiagnosed disease amongst our community with modelling indicating up to 300,000 additional people could be living with undiagnosed respiratory disease, primarily COPD, asthma and interstitial lung disease.”
“Respiratory illness represents a high-volume burden for our hospitals and clinics. It is characterised by frequent emergency admissions and long-term management needs. We are working at a time of immense pressure on health and social care services. Waiting lists remain unacceptably long, workforce shortages persist and public finances are constrained. At the same time, demand for support continues to rise as our population ages and more people live longer with complex, long-term conditions and illnesses. As Northern Ireland’s leading health charity we are uniquely placed to bridge the gap between communities and health systems; between prevention and care.”
“The population health evidence shows that community-based early intervention, self-management support and emotional wellbeing services have an important role to play alongside traditional health services and that is exactly what Breathing Better will deliver. It represents a significant strategic investment in respiratory health and community-based support across Northern Ireland.”
Explaining the Breathing Better programme in more depth Ursula says; “Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke will be right at the centre of communities in need of this new programme. Importantly, Breathing Better will target communities experiencing the greatest levels of deprivation, disadvantage and health inequality, promoting self-management, early intervention and prevention of avoidable deterioration. It will do this by delivering respiratory education focused on condition understanding, inhaler technique, recognising early signs of exacerbation, medication management and personalised action planning. Breathing Better will also provide emotional and psychological support, peer support, and signposting and referral to other relevant organisations and programmes. Another unique element of the programme is community development which will see people with lived experience of having a respiratory illness trained to become Community Respiratory Champions to support delivery of the programme and encourage community participation.”
“Through Breathing Better we are aiming to improve respiratory self-management, increase health confidence, improve emotional wellbeing and reduce social isolation. We also hope to strengthen community capacity, increase access to support and address health inequalities.”
Someone who understands the impact living with a respiratory illness can have on all aspects of wellbeing is Mary McGrath from Newtownabbey. Mary has idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis which is a condition that causes the lungs to become scarred and breathing increasingly difficult. Mary is awaiting a double lung transplant at just 48 years old and has received help through NICHS’s Family Support Service. Mary says; “I have had my condition for 20 years but meeting Darren from NICHS and getting support from him over the past few years has been fantastic for me. It has really helped change my life. I've received a lot of support that I never got before when I just felt alone. It has been like someone putting an arm around you.”
“It is fantastic that NICHS will be able to provide this type of support, and much more through the new Breathing Better programme, to many other people living with a respiratory illness. Not being able to breathe properly is the scariest thing in the world and this programme shows how committed the charity is to helping people who sadly have to experience this on a daily basis.”
Ursula concludes; “We are looking forward to beginning the implementation of our Breathing Better programme across Northern Ireland so we can help more people like Mary.”
“Receiving this funding is made even more special due to the fact our charity is currently marking its eightieth anniversary, and we have recently unveiled our new respiratory Walls of Hope at Altnagelvin Hospital. NICHS was founded in 1946 in response to the tuberculosis crisis and over the past eight decades we have adapted and evolved to meet the changing health needs of the population. Breathing Better is a great example of this evolution, and we again thank The National Lottery Community Fund and National Lottery players for helping us improve the lives of local people affected by respiratory illness.”
