Welcome to Better@Home

You’ve probably joined the Better@Home support programme because
you are living with some degree of frailty. Frailty is when someone is less
able to cope and recover from accidents, physical illness, or other
stressful events. The good news is there is a huge amount you can do to
improve your health and wellbeing. These are the type of activities the
Better@Home service supports and this webpage explains more.

You’ve probably joined the Better@Home support programme because you are living with some degree of frailty. Frailty is when someone is less able to cope and recover from accidents, physical illness, or other stressful events. The good news is there is a huge amount you can do to improve your health and wellbeing. These are the type of activities the Better@Home service supports and this webpage explains more.

*For more about Better@Home see:

NHS Overview →
Asthma + Lung UK →

What are the most important things
I can do to keep well?

Aging is a natural part of life, and with the right approach, it can be a time of growth, fulfillment, and vitality. Strong evidence shows these activities keep you well: hydration, nutrition, exercise, and social connection. Also, get vaccinated and stopping smoking helps to keep people well.

Vaccinations

It is really important that you have all your seasonal vaccinations each year- Flu and the covid booster. Check you have had your one-off pneumonia vaccine too.

Being physically active

Being as active as you can is really important. Even just reducing the time you are sitting can have a big improvement in your health. Regular activity is a must for everyone living with COPD. NHS Get Active

Inhaler technique

Revising and improving your inhaler technique will help to better manage respiratory symptoms.
Learn more

Pulmonary rehabilitation

This education and exercise programme is found to markedly help those with COPD.
Learn more

Stopping Smoking

Stopping is an important step for improving symptoms and slow disease progression.
NHS Quit Smoking

Early management of flare ups (exacerbations)

Having a plan of how to identify and manage a worsening of your symptoms can give you control and reduce the risk of needing a hospital admission. If you are feeling worse than usual, follow the instructions in the Rescue Pack Leaflet.

Eating well and maintaining a healthy weight

It is important to have a healthy weight being underweight or obese can worsen your symptoms and risk of flare ups (exacerbations).
NHS Drink Less
NHS Lose Weight

Looking out for your emotional wellbeing

People with COPD are more likely to experience anxiety and depression. Especially in people who have hospital stays due to their COPD. Seeking support is a vital part of living well with COPD.
NHS Every Mind Matters

The myCOPD app

You will be given access to myCOPD that provides valuable information on most of the key factors listed above. Research has demonstrated it is extremely effective. For instance, people who view the inhaler technique videos increase the accuracy of their medication delivery markedly.

Watch introduction video

Learn more


If you’d like any help with the myCOPD app or have any issues, please contact us and we will do our best to help.

Sign up for myCOPD here

Skills to master

Breathing

For excellent resources on dealing with breathlessness see your myCOPD app.

The COPD magazine features a major section on breathing as well as getting active.
COPD Magazine

A range of short webinars on different COPD topics is here.

If you have a flare up

If you are feeling worse than usual, follow the instructions in the Rescue Pack Leaflet

Winter

Winter can be a difficult time of year if you have a lung condition. Here’s some useful advice from Asthma + Lung to help you stay well this winter.
Asthma + Lung | Winter lung health

What is home monitoring?

Home monitoring means that there is a clinical team providing support for your care at home. You connect with them by providing regular information about your health via short questionnaires or sharing results on a tablet or mobile phone. The team reviews this information via dashboards and provides advice and support. This may be via video calls, phone calls or direct messaging through the app. The team is made up of nurses, doctors and also health coaches.

You will be given full support to set up home monitoring and send across results by a dedicated team.

Home monitoring is also sometimes known as remote monitoring, remote patient monitoring (RPM) or digital home care. These are all the same thing.

What is a Health Coach?

A Health Coach works with you to complete those activities that keep you well at home.

They work alongside the Clinical Team to provide personalised support.

This includes helping you complete your COPD plan to keep you living well with COPD.

What do patients think?

“The service has been excellent. It’s so much better for me to be at home – I can have what I like to eat, a nice cup of tea and a good night’s sleep in my own bed. I feel like I made a quicker recovery because I was at home. I was so grateful someone was looking after me, and you’re in constant contact with the team, so you feel so safe. The tech was easy to understand, and everyone was so patient in explaining it to me. I’d recommend Hospital at Home to anyone.”

Edna Webber, 90

Who is involved?

Living Well is a partnership between the NHS, and Doccla, who provide the technology and team, and my mhealth who provide the myCOPD app. The NHS partners are

University Hospitals
Bristol and Weston

NHS Foundation Trust

North Bristol

NHS Trust

Bristol, North Somerset
and South Gloucestershire

Integrated Care Board

my mhealth