Swansea Bay University Health Board’s pulmonary rehabilitation service has become the first pulmonary rehabilitation service in Wales to achieve accreditation through the Pulmonary Rehabilitation Services Accreditation Scheme (PRSAS), which is hosted by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP).
The achievement marks an important milestone for respiratory care in Wales and recognises the service’s commitment to delivering safe, effective and patient-centred pulmonary rehabilitation.
The RCP-hosted PRSAS is a quality improvement and accreditation programme designed to support pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) services to benchmark themselves against nationally recognised standards, identify areas for continuous improvement and demonstrate the quality of care they provide.
Pulmonary rehabilitation is an important intervention for people living with chronic respiratory conditions. It combines exercise, education and self-management support to help people improve their quality of life, increase their confidence in managing their condition and reduce the risk of hospital admissions.
Accreditation provides assurance that the pulmonary rehabilitation service at Swansea Bay University Health Board (SBUHB) has been independently assessed against rigorous quality standards. It also offers an opportunity to share learning across Wales as health boards continue to develop and strengthen respiratory services.
For patients, accreditation offers confidence that they are receiving care from a service that has been independently assessed and is delivering evidence-based practice, supporting improvements in symptoms and quality of life that are meaningful and beneficial. For services, it provides a structured framework to support improvement, promote consistency and demonstrate the quality and effectiveness of care.
Dr Raj Krishnan, SBUHB medical director, said:
‘We are delighted that our PR service has become the first in Wales to achieve PRSAS accreditation. This recognition reflects the hard work and dedication of colleagues across the service, who are committed to providing high-quality, patient-centred care for people living with chronic respiratory conditions. Pulmonary rehabilitation can make a real difference to people’s lives. We hope this achievement will support continued improvement and encourage more services across Wales to work towards accreditation.’
Nicola Perry-Gower, strategic lead pulmonary rehabilitation and long COVID pathway co-ordinator, said:
‘This is a fantastic achievement for our SBUHB PR service and a credit to the team for all their hard work and dedication throughout, of whom I am extremely proud. We are committed to ongoing quality improvement and hope that we can lead the way in Wales for other services to become PRSAS accredited.’
This news comes at a time when respiratory services across Wales continue to face challenges, including increasing demand, workforce pressures, variation in service provision and the need to improve access to rehabilitation and support for people living with chronic lung disease.
PRSAS is delivered by with the Royal College of Physicians in partnership with respiratory healthcare professionals and patient representatives. The scheme supports services to benchmark themselves against recognised standards and drive continuous quality improvement.
Dr Ben Thomas, joint RCP vice president for Wales, said:
‘It is fantastic to see SBUHB's PR service become the first in Wales to achieve PRSAS accreditation. This achievement recognises the team’s commitment to delivering high-quality, patient-centred care and highlights the important role pulmonary rehabilitation plays in helping people with chronic respiratory conditions live well. We hope it will encourage more services across Wales to engage with accreditation and continue strengthening respiratory care.’
Dr Hilary Williams, RCP clinical vice president added:
'This is a significant achievement for SBUHB and an important moment for pulmonary rehabilitation in Wales. Accreditation recognises the health board’s commitment to quality improvement and to delivering safe, effective and patient-centred care. It also shows what can be achieved when teams are supported to review their services against nationally recognised standards and use that insight to drive improvement.’