Improving Interstitial Lung Disease Pathways and Management

Rachel graduated from Guys School of Physiotherapy in 1991 and then worked in a number of teaching hospitals in London. In 1987 she obtained an M.Sc. in Health Sciences and specialised in respiratory care. In 2001 she was awarded a PhD in pulmonary rehabilitation. As Assistant Professor Physiotherapy, St George’s University she led on undergraduate and post graduate respiratory teaching and research. With over 100 peer reviewed publications, a number of book chapters and as editor of “Pulmonary Rehabilitation: An interdisciplinary approach”, she is an international expert on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Pulmonary Rehabilitation. 

Clinically, Rachel’s area of expertise is in the delivery of exercise for people with chronic health problems, such as diabetes, COPD, renal failure and hypertension. Her rehabilitation programmes feature components such as balance re-education, progressive resisted exercise, gait and posture training. She teaches breathing re-training, Inspiratory Muscle Training and provides physical activity therapies for people with cardio-respiratory conditions, such as asthma, emphysema, hyperventilation, and panic disorders. She is trained in both mindfulness and hypnotherapy. 

Rachel moved to Spain in 2014, where she provides domiciliary and online respiratory physiotherapy / pulmonary rehabilitation. She works in in conjunction with a number of hospitals and clinics in Marbella.  Rachel continues to be active in lecturing; 29th Annual Panhellenic Scientific Congress of Physiotherapy, Athens, December 2019; a series of webinars for the Irish Society of Chartered Physiotherapists in Respiratory Care, February 2021; Symposium “Dysfunctional Breathing Patterns” Irish Chartered Society of Physiotherapists Annual Conference 2021. In June 2022 she provided 2 days lecturing “Advanced Pulmonary Rehabilitation” for the Irish Respiratory Physiotherapy Society and has recently been appointed module lead for Galway University´s MSc in Pulmonary Rehabilitation. 

Rachel, in conjunction with a late-stage COPD patient, has recently published “The Secret to Thriving with COPD” – a unique book written for people with COPD which advocates for pulmonary rehabilitation using the patient perspective and that of a health professional. Rachel has an online video-based course, “A Guide to Better Breathing for Life” which is available on Udemy.com. 

Rachel has recently evolved an online pulmonary rehabilitation hub providing weekly live zoom sessions and a portal of education and breathing exercise videos. To share with patients please use the following link: https://betterbreathing.kartra.com/page/membershub

After working as a consultant in palliative medicine at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, Jon was appointed clinical lead for palliative medicine at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire in April, 2022. In addition to his work with complex Oncology and Haematology patients, he is particularly interested in palliative care in non-malignant diseases and has considerable experience of working jointly with colleagues from neurology, cardiology, hepatology, critical care, geriatrics, as well as respiratory and transplant medicine. He is currently chair of the Specialist Palliative Care Audit and Guidelines Group in the West Midlands; he also serves as subspecialty clinical lead for the NIHR Clinical Research Network West Midlands. When not punishing himself on long trails, Jon enjoys spending time with his young family.

Maria is the clinical lead of the pulmonary rehabilitation service at King’s College Hospital – a role, which inspired her to value a great deal specialist clinical leadership skills, such as service effectiveness, patient-focused care, and quality improvement strategies. Maria is a confident clinical lead with a wealth of knowledge, experience and skills in directing, shaping and developing a service both from a clinical and strategic planning perspective. She is keen is utilising these skills and knowledge to contribute towards service and quality improvement implementations that can benefit the ILD treatment pathway.  Having led the King’s PR service during the Covid-19 pandemic, she has appreciated the value of technology in supporting clinical services; a careful assessment and evaluation framework is required to judge the clinical and cost effectiveness value of any technological implementation vs or in addition to traditional service pathways.

Maria, has successfully completed Master- level modules at UCL in the field of respiratory and cardiovascular medicine, and in 2015 she completed an MSc by research course at St George’s university of London (an RCT investigating the effects of inspiratory muscle training in ILD). She is an active member of the ERS, ILD-N and BTS; she is a peer reviewer in respiratory journals in her field of expertise, and has presented her work in national and international conferences.