January 3, 2020

New pulmonary rehab group at Broadmeadows Hospital

Broadmeadows Hospital recently commenced a pulmonary rehab program for clients with lung disease. Prior to this, the service was only offered at Northern Hospital and Craigieburn Centre.

Craig Whitbourne, Senior Clinician Exercise Psychology explains the waiting list for this service was very long and patients usually don’t like to travel very far for service.

“As a result, we have commenced a pulmonary rehab program at Broadmeadows Hospital to service the clients living closer to us. Now with three sites offering the service, we can get through the waiting list quicker,” he said.

In association with DPV Health, the hospital offers maintenance classes, exercise programs at home or gym sessions at Broadmeadows Leisure Centre.

“This allows patients to manage their condition. We see people who come to the sessions with oxygen bottles, and we also have them here if they need them during exercise. These patients come to the clinic after being either referred by a specialist or following a hospital admission,” said Craig.

Craig went on to explain, the exercises help patients improve their quality of life.

This service is being run by the Exercise Physiology team and is held twice weekly, i.e. Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3-4 pm, with patients attending for eight weeks.

Grant Taylor, Director of Nursing and Operations for Broadmeadows Hospital and Craigieburn Centre added that this service is a fantastic addition to the suite of services on offer to patients at Broadmeadows Hospital.

“I am very proud of the hard work and commitment shown by the pulmonary rehabilitation team in developing this service in response to growing patient need”.