Service description
The Long-Term Conditions Rehabilitation Team provides pulmonary and heart failure rehabilitation as a combined ‘Breathlessness Rehab’ for residents of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.
Breathlessness Rehab is a programme of exercise and education for people with long-term lung conditions and/or heart failure. It combines physical exercise sessions with education and advice and is designed to help you to manage the symptoms of your condition better.
Breathlessness Rehab is aimed at people who have breathing difficulties caused by their condition that affects their ability to do daily activities. Rehab may help to improve your ability to walk further and be able to do more, improve your muscle strength so you can use the oxygen you breathe more efficiently, help you to cope better with feeling out of breath, and improve your quality of life.
Your age and the severity of your condition will not stop you from taking part in rehab or from seeing an improvement. Prior to starting a rehab programme you will have an initial assessment of your health and abilities. A physiotherapist, occupational therapist or exercise specialist will ask questions to understand you and help you get the best out of the programme. The assessment will also involve completing some walking tests and questionnaires.
A face-to-face rehab programme then lasts for six weeks with two, two hourly group sessions a week. During each session you will exercise on and off for up to one hour. This will be carefully tailored to your current ability so that it provides just the right level of exercise for you. The rest of the time will be spent providing education and tips about living with and managing your condition. People often really enjoy the programme and benefit from meeting others in a similar situation.
If you are unable to attend for face-to-face classes for any reason, there is also the opportunity to complete a home-based rehabilitation programme. This involves exercising in the home environment, with telephone support from the rehab team.
Our rehab programmes take place in community hospitals and community halls across Leicestershire. The current locations for Breathlessness Rehab are Lutterworth, Barwell, Coalville, Loughborough, Melton Mowbray and Oadby.
Breathlessness Rehab is always performed in a safe, sociable, enjoyable and fun environment with refreshments provided. The programme requires your commitment to really work, you need to complete exercise sessions regularly and follow the advice given by the team.
Testimonials from our breathlessness rehab patients
“The guidance, advice and encouragement has helped me more than I could put into words.”
“I have enjoyed the classes and learned a lot about how to manage my condition. The classes have inspired me to do more exercise which I know is so important.”
“The course keeps you focused and eager to continue with the work.”
“Thank you very much for taking time, caring and explaining. I will miss this class.”
Long Covid Rehab
As a service we are also currently offering Long Covid Rehab as a separate programme. We aim to support people living with Long Covid to increase their strength and fitness, and to gain advice and strategies for living with their symptoms. The Long Covid Programme runs in the same way as Breathlessness Rehab, as a six week course of either face-to-face classes or home exercise.
Referral criteria
All patients need to have either a confirmed respiratory diagnosis or a confirmed diagnosis of heart failure prior to attending.
All patients need to be referred into the service by a healthcare professional.
Who to contact if you need an interpreter or information about disabled access
Call the service co-ordinators on 01509 410 262 so that they can notify the nurse and book an interpreter.