Quality standard
Quality statement 4: Pulmonary rehabilitation
Quality statement 4: Pulmonary rehabilitation
Quality statement
Pulmonary rehabilitation programmes provide services that are designed specifically for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Rationale
Pulmonary rehabilitation is often tailored to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and not to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. For people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, pulmonary rehabilitation is more likely to contribute to improved health‑related quality of life and exercise capacity if it is tailored to their condition.
Quality measures
Structure
Evidence of local arrangements to ensure that pulmonary rehabilitation programmes are tailored to the needs of people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Data source: Local data collection.
Process
Proportion of people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis who are offered pulmonary rehabilitation tailored to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Numerator – the number in the denominator whose pulmonary rehabilitation is tailored to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Denominator – the number of people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis who start pulmonary rehabilitation.
Data source: Local data collection.
What the quality statement means for different audiences
Service providers (hospitals and regional specialist centres) ensure that pulmonary rehabilitation programmes provide services designed specifically for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Healthcare professionals ensure that people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis receive pulmonary rehabilitation designed specifically for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Commissioners (NHS England through specialised services area teams and clinical commissioning groups) use collaborative commissioning to ensure that the services they commission provide pulmonary rehabilitation programmes that are designed specifically for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
People with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis who could benefit from pulmonary rehabilitation (sessions that teach people about how their lungs work and how to cope with symptoms such as breathlessness) are offered a programme that is specially designed for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Source guidance
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in adults: diagnosis and management. NICE guideline CG163 (2013, updated 2017), recommendation 1.5.3
Definitions of terms used in this quality statement
Pulmonary rehabilitation
A multidisciplinary programme of care for people with a chronic respiratory condition. It is tailored and designed to optimise each person's physical performance and their independence. Pulmonary rehabilitation includes education, exercise training, psychosocial support and advice on nutrition. [Adapted from NICE's full guideline on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in adults]
Equality and diversity considerations
Pulmonary rehabilitation should be available to everyone with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis who can benefit from it. To ensure equality of access to pulmonary rehabilitation, measures such as providing transport for people to attend rehabilitation sessions and providing the sessions in different locations should be considered. Pulmonary rehabilitation should be held in centres that have access for disabled people.
Healthcare professionals should take into consideration the communication needs of people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis when delivering pulmonary rehabilitation. All information should be in a format that the person receiving it can understand. If the person's first language is not English, an interpreter should be available.