Calls for a COPD awareness campaign to tackle delayed diagnoses

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease causes severe breathlessness, coughing and frequent chest infections. It affects around 1.4 million people in the UK and late diagnosis can increase the risk of life-threatening flare-ups.

A report released by Asthma + Lung UK ahead of World COPD day on Wednesday warns 23 percent of sufferers surveyed had waited at least five years for a diagnosis and 12 percent waited a decade.

Vivienne Gaynor, 60, struggled for six years before the condition was picked up.

She said: “I lost count of the number of times I went to see my GP with a chest infection or trouble breathing, but all I was told was ‘it’s just asthma’ or ‘keep using the inhalers’.

“It didn’t make sense that I was constantly breathless, and I struggled just to get up the stairs, and was always tired.”

Finally, in 2013 Vivienne, of Edinburgh, got a message from her GP asking her to pick up a COPD inhaler.

But she said she received no explanation of the diagnosis. She added: “It still makes me angry that I was so easily dismissed.

“The impact of the delayed diagnosis meant that I had to give up the job I loved as a mental health advocate, and now have to use a mobility scooter to get around.”

Asthma + Lung UK is calling for an awareness campaign to ensure the public and medics know the symptoms of COPD.

It is also concerned that patients are still missing out on a key diagnostic test called spirometry, which was halted during the pandemic due to infection control concerns.

The charity’s CEO, Sarah Woolnough, said: “We are hearing shocking stories of people spending years, even a decade of their lives, sometimes struggling to breathe, unaware that they have a lung condition which could be managed with the right treatment and support.

“Diagnosis of COPD needs to be faster and more accurate and there needs to be greater awareness of the seriousness of lung conditions and the signs and symptoms to look out for.

“To achieve this, we are calling on the government to ensure the NHS is equipped to restart diagnostic tests for lung conditions, like spirometry.”