Support for Patients
Is accessing support right for me?
Living with a lung condition can make it difficult to work or carry out day-to-day activities that others take for granted. Even if you can carry on working and looking after yourself, some people with lung conditions find themselves feeling lonely, upset or anxious. If this sounds like you, then it might help you to access some additional support. This could be as simple as finding someone to talk to or might mean practical help in your home or financial assistance.
What support is available?
You will receive advice and information on your lung condition and how to treat it from your GP, practice nurse, specialist lung team and/or physiotherapist. However, there is a wide range of additional support available to help make your life easier. You can find information on this site for many of these things.
- Mental health and emotional support
- Support from others in the same situation
- Financial support
You might find you need more practical help at home, and you can find all the information and links you need to do that below.
How do I get help at home?
If you are finding it difficult to carry out everyday tasks around the home or to look after yourself, then you may be able to get help, including:
- A carer or personal assistant
- Equipment to help make tasks easier
- Changes to your home to help you move around or make you feel safe
- Help with transport when you need to leave your home
You can arrange and pay for care and support at home yourself through a private homecare agency. Alternatively, you may have a partner, friend or family member who can help care for you, in which case there is additional support for them insert link to Support for Carers page
You can also contact Social Services for a Local Authority needs assessment. This assessment tells you what type of care and support you need and how it will be delivered to you. You can request a needs assessment here.
Social services will also need to carry out a financial assessment (also called a means test) before deciding how much they can pay towards your care.
If you have someone who cares for you without being paid, they can also have a carer’s assessment.
How do I find help local to me?
For more information on the help and support services near you, visit our local service finder web page
What about lung charities?
Understanding the type of support available and what to do if you need extra help can be confusing. Lung charities have lots of knowledge and experience, which mean they can explain how to organise help and put you in touch with others in the same situation. Some charities can also lend or sell you equipment to help make your life easier. See below for links and helpline numbers.
Where can I find out more?
The charity Asthma + Lung UK run a helpline for anyone with a lung condition, you can call them with any questions about your condition, how to get help or just to hear a friendly voice.
The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation charity also runs a helpline specifically for people with lung cancer.
You can get more information from the NHS website on the type of help offered by Social Services and how to access that help.
The British Red Cross is a charity that provides emotional support, loans of mobility equipment and some homecare services.If you have sleep apnoea, you can buy specialist equipment directly from the charity hope2sleep.