IMPRESS guide for commissioners on supportive and end of life care for people with COPD
April 2012

This paper gives an overview about the epidemiology, service challenges and offers some practical action to improve the supportive and end of life care for people with COPD. Download a pdf copy here.

For a powerful account of the issues, a letter to the Annals of Internal Medicine, by Joanne Lynn, one of the most active campaigners for improved end of life care internationally, see here.

Effective Care - Effective Communication: Living and Dying with COPD

Effective Care - Effective Communication: Living and Dying with COPD is an educational package from IMPRESS consisting of a DVD and a CD of PowerPoint slides supported with funding from the Department of Health, England.

"The development of an educational package for clinicians involved in end of life care issues in COPD" was accepted for oral presentation at the European Respiratory Society meeting in Barcelona in September 2010.

We issued nearly 6,000 copies of Edition 1. Using feedback from two training events, we have updated the package to include filmed examples of good practice and to bring it in line with the English Outcomes Strategy for COPD and asthma.

The material will probably best be used by a facilitator as part of an educational package on communication skills, or COPD care.

During its development, IMPRESS became increasingly aware of the complexities involved in ensuring it reaches the relevant professionals and can be accessed in the most useful way to inform and change professional practice. The learning is complex and nuanced and is likely to require multiple roles of clinician and educator skilled in COPD, communications skills and end of life care. There are currently few clinicians who would fulfil all these roles and so IMPRESS believes a local communication skills course would often need at least two skilled facilitators.

For clips from some of the videos

Each of the DH Respiratory Leads has copies of the DVD to distribute.  Please ask them for copies.   We are also working on a restricted access online option.

Addendum (Edition 2)

The order of the video clips on the DVD is different to the titles given. We apologise for this.

Addendum (Edition 1)

Since production we have become aware of an error on Powerpoint Presentation COPD The Basics Slide 18 where an arrow has been transposed.

The FEV1/FVC ratio is stated as being >0.7. It should be FEV1/FVC

IMPRESS apologises for this error which has been altered in future editions.