News

How healthy are your lungs?

During the month of August, 625 community pharmacists across Cheshire and Merseyside are joining forces to raise awareness of the early signs of lung disease.

Community pharmacists will be letting people know how to spot the signs of possible lung disease as part of a drive to get people diagnosed and starting treatment as soon as possible. If someone has a cough or wheeze for three weeks or more or gets out of breath from a doing a simple task such as walking up the stairs, this could be a sign of a developing lung condition such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), which is one of the main causes of early death in England.  In Cheshire and Merseyside we have approximately 500,000 patients with diagnosed cases of a lung or respiratory illness.

Pam Soo, Programme Advisor – Pharmacy, NHS England Cheshire and Merseyside said: “Local community pharmacists are in a good position to start a conversation with someone about the signs and symptoms of lung disease, as they often have good relationships with local people already. 

“They see people on a regular basis and can have conversations with them about the signs and symptoms.  We will be encouraging people who have symptoms to get an appointment with their GP to seek further advice and to visit the British Lung Foundation website.  Early diagnosis and intervention means better outcomes for most people”

Last year over 75,000 people across the region were given help and advice through pharmacies in relation to health issues such as lung disease, cancer and diabetes.