Publish date: 21 October 2025
Well done and congratulations to the Sefton Pulmonary Rehabilitation service for achieving accreditation status. Demonstrating that they meet best practice quality standards covering all aspects of a pulmonary rehabilitation service including quality and safety, patient experience and the workforce.
The Pulmonary Rehabilitation team with the Sefton Community Respiratory team provides an extensive Pulmonary Rehabilitation service to people in Sefton. This covers a wide geography, and the programme is strategically delivered through two community venues in the north and south of the area.
The National Pulmonary Rehabilitation Service Accreditation (PRSAS) assessment team visited in August 2025 and observed a Pulmonary Rehabilitation programme and spoke to patients directly about their experience.
In preparation for accreditation, the team had undergone significant changes to ensure they were delivering an effective programme. In the official report, the team were congratulated on their strong clinical leadership and commitment to delivering a high quality, patient focussed service, whilst work well as a team and supporting team wellbeing.
This was evidenced in the excellent feedback from patients that have attended the programme who described the service as "life changing". In addition to this, the service was recognised for the management of pre-transplant patients, allowing patients to continue to attend sessions up until their surgery date.
The service was commended on their programme of exercise that was recently redesigned, acknowledging that they have clearly been flexible and embraced change to improve patient outcomes.
Further recognition was for the team’s engagement with research investigating the use of volunteers within Pulmonary Rehabilitation that we have continued to implement following completion of the trial. These volunteers support patients in classes to continue the programme and reduce attrition. The service was praised for their ongoing commitment to quality improvement and dedication to patients. The service was also congratulated on their waiting times for both stable and acute populations that are below the national averages resulting in timely treatment and greater patient benefits.
