Excellence Network Awards stories: Innovation in practice - Salisbury's functional breathwork programme

Left to right: Tracey Howes, Functional Breathwork Instructor and freediver, working in partnership with the NHS; Angela Fong, Parkinson's Nurse at Salisbury District Hospital.
 

Thinking back to the day of the Awards, how did you feel when you won?

Angela: Super proud and honoured to be recognised for my passion in our Functional Breathwork Innovation project. To win not once, but twice, gave me one of the greatest senses of achievement in my 36 year nursing career.

How was your Awards achievement received and recognised by your patients and colleagues?

Tracey: We got a round of applause from the people with Parkinson's and caregivers in our breathwork programme! We've been interviewed for Bial's clinical education programme, and we're writing an article for the Journal of Community Nursing. We'll also be talking to two well-respected podcasts about doing an interview once our programme completes in November, as well as sharing our work with local press in Salisbury and Dorset.

Angela: The award led to us being featured in our hospital's communication newsletter, raising awareness of time critical Parkinson's medication, and the importance of managing non-motor symptoms through breathwork.

I've had meetings with chief executives, chief nursing officers and innovation chief officer with a view to taking this work further in the future. I was also proud to present our award-winning work on International Nurses' Day. In addition, the Parkinson’s team and I at Salisbury Hospital have been nominated for "Best Clinical Practice" and "Patients’ Experience" at the Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust Staff Excellence Awards, recognising the impact of breathwork.

Has your project or way of working changed since the Awards?

Tracey: The programme content has been updated based on new skills that I've learned to support people with Parkinson's and their caregivers. We've had interest from the speech and language therapy (SALT) team at Salisbury Hospital, who are referring patients to the programme.

We've also had a lot of interest from other NHS trusts wanting to learn more. It will require further funding to develop a national roll-out at scale and this is what we're working towards. I launched an online support group in August for all attendees of our Salisbury program to maintain a weekly routine of breathwork practice.

Angela: We're demonstrating our work to the Parkinson's community through local and neighbouring Parkinson's groups, and sharing it with peers at regional and national conferences. As well as the SALT team referring people to us prior to assessments, the palliative care team are also interested in replicating our approach.

What impact has this had for your future goals for your patients with Parkinson's?

Angela: It gives me so much joy to see the impact our breathwork has for our people with Parkinson's and their carers. They're now equipped with tools and techniques to manage their non-motor symptoms such as anxiety, stress, panic attacks and insomnia. Other improvements also include better posture, phonation and voice projection. The carers appreciate these opportunities to learn and manage their loved ones' symptoms and their own stress and anxieties too.

An Excellence Network grant allowed us to develop this work — we'll apply for other funding opportunities and carry out research. One day we'd like to see functional breathwork as part of social prescribing for people with Parkinson's and their carers.

Tracey: Beyond delivering the 12-month program at Salisbury NHS Trust, we're approaching local Parkinson's groups in Dorset and hosting taster sessions in the New Forest, Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole and Romsey. We may also have the chance to expand it into Wimborne and Weymouth too. Following these, there is the possibility to host a monthly community group to support anyone with Parkinson's from the local area, using breathwork and other techniques to support non-motor symptoms.