We are delighted to have 30 Pulmonary Rehabilitation (PR)-services from across England taking part in the IMPROVE Trial. Thank you to all the PR-teams and Research & Development departments for all your hard work in making this happen. We have 14 intervention sites and 16 usual care (control) sites. You can see where these sites are located below.
PR-Staff
Staff in the PR-services which have been randomised to the intervention arm of the trial have been tasked with setting up a PR-buddy service. The training of PR staff in these services was completed in February 2024. These trained staff are then responsible for recruiting volunteer PR-buddies who are COPD patients who have recently completed PR. The PR-staff are also responsible for training those PR-buddies and pairing them up with patients.
PR-Buddies
Being a PR-buddy in the IMPROVE trial is not an ordinary volunteering role as they have to commit to three days of training in order to prepare them to take on the role and support patients effectively. PR-buddy role involves talking to patients to work out anything that might stop the patient they are supporting from going to PR and using techniques that they have learnt during their training to try and get over the issue. PR-buddies will share how much they got out of PR with other people to help to encourage them to give it a go.
Patient-Participants
Each site, regardless of which arm of the trial they have been randomised to, has been asked to recruit up to 50 patients with COPD who have been recently referred for PR at their local PR-service. When they consent to be part of the trial the patients do not know which side of the trial their site has been randomised to. These patients are giving feedback to the trial team through questionnaires and interviews about how their journey through PR has been, either with or without a PR-buddy. We will also get feedback from the groups of PR-buddies and from PR-staff about how they found the process of setting up and running a PR-service.
Participating sites
Barts Health NHS Trust
Site Principal Investigator: Marc Rodriguera, MSc (Cardio-Respiratory Nursing), BSc (Nursing). Clinical Lead, Adult Respiratory Care and Rehabilitation
Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Site Principal Investigator: Nicola Rowe, BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy. Team Lead for Community Respiratory Therapy and Palliative Physiotherapy Teams
Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust
Site Principal Investigator: Helen Owen. Specialist Respiratory Physiotherapist, Pulmonary Rehabilitation Team Lead
Cambridgeshire & Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust
Site Principal Investigator: Erin Sales, BSc. Operations Manager and Respiratory Specialist Nurse, Respiratory and Cardiac Services
Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust
Site Principal Investigator: Omosogie Maswaya, MSc, BSc. Respiratory Clinical Lead and Co-Lead Northwest London Oxygen Network
Croydon Health Services NHS Trust
Site Principal Investigator: Kim Nottingham, Respiratory Physiotherapist
Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Site Principal Investigator: Laura Van den Heule, BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy. Pulmonary Rehabilitation Team Lead
East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust
Site Principal Investigator: Diane Gaiger, RGN, NMP. Team Lead for Respiratory and Pulmonary Rehabilitation
Black = Main Trial Sites
Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust
Site Principal Investigator: Thomas Williamson, BSc. Service manager, Respiratory Team
Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust
Site Principal Investigator: Irine Chidume, BSc Physiotherapy. Clinical Lead Physiotherapist
Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust
Site Principal Investigator: Leyla Osman, BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy, PhD, BSc (Hons). Senior Consultant Physiotherapist
Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Site Principal Investigator: Alice Kenward, BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy. Joint Clinical Lead Pulmonary Rehabilitation/Clinical Specialist Respiratory Physiotherapist
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
Site Principal Investigator: Michelle Maguire, BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy. Clinical Lead Respiratory Physiotherapist & North West London ICB PR Lead
Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust
Site Principal Investigator: Emma Crossland, BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy. Clinical Lead Respiratory Physiotherapist
Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust (Sefton)
Site Principal Investigator: Julie Channell, Bsc (Hons) Physiotherapy. Advanced Respiratory Specialist Physiotherapist/Lead Physiotherapist
Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust (St Helens)
Site Principal Investigator: Julie Channell, Bsc (Hons) Physiotherapy. Advanced Respiratory Specialist Physiotherapist/Lead Physiotherapist
North East London NHS Foundation Trust
Site Principal Investigator: Michelle Higgins, BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy. Respiratory Service Team Lead
Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust (Bury)
Site Principal Investigator: Katy Bentley, BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy. Respiratory Specialist Physiotherapist
Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust (Oldham)
Site Principal Investigator: Joan Pilling, BA, BSc. Clinical Respiratory Services Manager
North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust
Site Principal Investigator: Helen Littler, BSc, MSc. Respiratory Consultant Nurse
North Tees & Hartlepool Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Site Principal Investigator: Caroline Fernandes-James, MSc Physiotherapy, BSc Physiotherapy (Hons), Masters in Clinical Research (Leadership) (Merit), MCSP. Clinical Specialist Respiratory Physiotherapist/Joint Clinical Lead Pulmonary Rehabilitation
Nottingham City Care Partnership
Site Principal Investigator: Zoe Styles, BSc (Hons) Physiology, BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy. Senior Physiotherapist
Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust
Site Principal Investigator: Chris Swindale, BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy, MSc Advanced Cardiorespiratory Physiotherapy. Respiratory Physiotherapist, Trainee Advanced Clinical Practitioner in Community Respiratory Research
Sirona Care and Health CIC
Site Principal Investigator: Susanna Barr, BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy. Pulmonary Rehab Team Lead
South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Site Principal Investigator: Andrew Fisher, BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy. Clinical Lead/Specialist Respiratory Physiotherapist
South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust
Site Principal Investigator: Sunitha Kanjanghat, BSc Physiotherapy. Specialist Respiratory Physiotherapist
Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Site Principal Investigator: Fiona Bradshaw, BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy. Senior Physiotherapist in Pulmonary Rehabilitation
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
Site Principal Investigator: Helen Dunn, BSC (Hons) Adult Nursing, BSC (hons) Applied Biology. Specialist COPD Nurse
York & Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Site Principal Investigator: Frances Butler, PhD, MSc, BHSc, MCSP. Advanced Clinical Specialist Physiotherapist
Your Healthcare CIC
Site Principal Investigator: Elizabeth Goodman, BSc Physiotherapy. Respiratory Physiotherapist
