Meet the Patients

Today we spent two hours at the Welsh Assembly, chatting to our Assembly members and asking for their support on the major issues in lung health today. The main one being adequate provision of pulmonary rehab across Wales as recommended in NICE guidelines. Every patient with a lung condition, who would benefit from receiving pulmonary rehab (not all do) should have easy access to it. We all know that rehab educates people and is enabling, helping them to lead more active lives and, most importantly, keeping them out of hospital (rehab costs around £450 per person to deliver and a week in hospital costs around £2,500 - the figures speak for themselves)

Also we want to improve Sleep Apnoea services across Wales. Sleep Apnoea can be treated with a CPAP machine or often with a lifestyle change - simple measures can change the lives of sufferers.

Rebecca Evans, Assembly Member for Mid and West Wales, listened carefully while we asked her about provision for Sleep Apnoea services in her area. She said she would ask the minister and she has emailed me today with a reply from  Leslie Griffiths saying that all the Health Boards had been advised of the minimum accepted standards in February 2011. Now we need to check that these standards are being met.

We want the Assembly to press ahead to protect children in cars from cigarette smoke. They can't say "Put the fag out please !" so we must say that for them. After all we can't smoke in pubs, so drinkers are protected, in the workplace, in schools, in hospitals - do I need to say more ? We must protect our children.