"A structured care plan for people with COPD"

I suffered from two episodes of breathlessness. I thought it was childhood asthma returning but tests undertaken by my GP showed COPD. I am now on an inhaler regime and was, this morning, very helpfully squeezed in for an appointment with the doctor after having suffered from a cold for a week and feeling worse not better.

My doctor told me that with COPD I should not wait if I developed a cold but to be seen early to prevent chest infections or other problems that could affect my breathing. As I had had a similar crisis earlier this year I asked my doctor if this is what I could expect now – one crisis after another when I rarely had problems before. I was told it was difficult to predict.

I wondered if people with COPD had a structured care plan as they do with diabetes. I really don’t know what to expect, how regularly the condition is monitored, what I should expect from my GP and the hospitals, will there be regular structured reviews?

It would be lovely to have all this set out when diagnosed, or shortly afterwards, so that we know what to expect and what is expected of us as patients e. g. I now know not to leave feeling unwell for a few days but to see a doctor earlier than I would normally.