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In March 2008, we wrote via the BGS Newsletter that the next round of the national COPD audit was imminent.

We are now pleased to report that the 2008 National COPD Audit has been a tremendous success! 98% of Acute NHS Trusts in the UK participated and submitted data on over 9,000 clinical cases of COPD exacerbation. For the first time, Primary Care Organisations, General Practitioners and patients were included. Five national reports have been published and are available at: www.rcplondon.ac.uk/copd

The audit reports were launched at a Parliamentary reception in November, attended by a number of ministers and eminent guests.

Why should Geriatricians get involved?
The audit found that 15% of patients admitted to hospital with acute exacerbations of COPD were admitted under care of the consultant physician in elderly care, and 11% were under the care of a geriatrician when discharged. A significant proportion of COPD patients are looked after by “Care of the Elderly” physicians, so it is important that you are involved in shaping services for these patients in your Trust. Whilst it is important that all elderly COPD patients have access to the specialist advice of a Respiratory team, it is also necessary that older patients with COPD under the care of Respiratory teams have access to the advice of geriatricians. We encourage you to work closely with your Respiratory colleagues and share with them your expertise in looking after the complex needs of the elderly.

How can Geriatricians help?
The resources and organisation of care report highlights a number of deficiencies in many Trusts. The team developed a number of quality indicators, which are available at www.rcplondon.ac.uk/copd. You may be interested to see how your Trust fares in meeting these quality indicators. The report of clinical care of patients admitted with acute exacerbations of COPD, which outlines process of care measures and clinical outcomes, also shows wide variation across Trusts. You may wish to extend the RCP audit as a routine indicator of clinical practice in your Trust.

Two areas to note are paucity of information provided to COPD patients, and lack of access to Palliative Care for those at end of life. Many Acute Trusts and Primary Care Organisations report plans to develop palliative care services for COPD patients. Perhaps you could share your expertise in end of life care services with the lead person to assist development of these plans?

For further information about the National COPD Audit 2008, please visit our webpage and send your queries or feedback on the audit reports to the project team. We thank all colleagues working in Care of the Elderly medicine who contributed to the audit.

Phyo Myint
Senior Lecturer, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital
National COPD Audit 2008 Steering Group
Nancy Pursey
National COPD Audit 2008 Acting Manager
The Royal College of Physicians of London

BGS Newsletter, July 2009
Issue 22 ISSN 1748-6343 22