News and upcoming events

Breathe Easy Week

Breathe Easy Week 2011, which took place from 13 - 19 June, was a busy week for Breathe Easy groups across the Midlands region. Groups organised and got involved in a huge range of events including awareness stands, public lung testing events, garden parties, and fundraising collections. Breathe Easy members supported the BLF's Breathe Easy Week Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) campaign by getting people to fill in an OSA survey, with two Midlands groups taking to the streets in their pyjamas and dressing gowns to draw attention to the campaign. Below are a selection of photos from the week.

Midlands Regional Conference 2011

On 7 April, the BLF Midlands conference took place in Solihull. The day was a great success, with 120 delegates enjoying a variety of speakers and workshops, followed by an anniversary tea party.

Dame Helena Shovelton, Chief Executive of the British Lung Foundation, began the day with a talk about the British Lung Foundation over the last 25 years. Delegates also heard from Professor Warren Lenney, who spoke about recent research funded by the BLF, and Sandy Walmsley and Jane Scullion who spoke about the future of care within the West and East Midlands.

In the afternoon there was a choice of breakout sessions, covering a range of topics: COPD, bronchiectasis, sleep apnoea, childhood lung conditions, and a very popular singing workshop.

The conference was an opportunity for those in the Midlands with an interest in lung conditions to meet with experts in respiratory health, Breathe Easy members and staff from the British Lung Foundation. There were also a number of exhibitors on hand to discuss equipment and services that are available to those with various lung conditions.

New Breathe Easy groups in the Midlands

In March, the Midlands welcomed two new Breathe Easy groups.

BE Sleaford held their launch party on 9 March, 2011. The launch was very well attended by both members and local health care professionals. BE Sleaford have an exciting programme of events for 2011, including a Tai Chi session, an outing to the seaside and several talks about COPD.

BE Gainsborough launched just two days later, on 11 March, 2011. This year the group have already planned for a summer tea outing and silent auction, in addition to talks on respiratory disease and benefits.

Breathe Easy Week 2010

Breathe Easy Week 2010, which took place in June, saw Breathe Easy groups across the region organising a wide range of events, including garden parties, tombolas and information stands.

Midlands Regional Network Days, April 2010

In April 2010, the BLF Midlands Office team completed a round of Breathe Easy Network Meetings. Four meetings took place, in Bromsgrove, Coventry, Nottingham and Cannock. In total, 100 Breathe Easy members, representing 23 groups, joined us at the meetings, and we were delighted to be joined by some groups who we have not seen at previous network meetings.

Network meetings provide groups with an excellent opportunity to share ideas and information with each other, and to hear from both regional and national staff from the BLF. We welcomed a different guest speaker at each meeting, and every group had the opportunity to report on their progress. We also held an interactive finance workshop at each meeting, where Breathe Easy members had a set of finance challenges to work on as teams.

Feedback from the round of meetings has been excellent and we hope to organise more later in the year – watch this space for details.

Midlands region's first BLF Nurses

Pictured below are the Midlands region's first BLF Nurses at their stand in Sainsburys in Kimberley, Nottingham for World COPD Day, where they carried out lung function tests. From left to right: Debbie Hollier, Eve Eliott and Alison Sutherland.