About the project
The Asthma + Lung UK (A+LUK) Respiratory Champions pilot project will fund six ‘Respiratory Champions’ within six local NHS areas, known as Integrated Care Systems (ICS), within England. These Champions are already local respiratory specialist Health Care Professionals (HCPs), but this project will give them more time and resources to enhance respiratory care and work in a broader way to improve outcomes.
The Champions will initially focus on asthma and COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), mapping local outcomes and services provision before working with A+LUK to formulate a plan of action and implementing these positive changes.
The Respiratory Champions will each be provided with a grant for a 12 month fixed contract so that they can work one day a week in this important role. The project is funded by a grant from AstraZeneca, however A+LUK has full operational control.
A+LUK aims to attract additional funding in future years, and should the pilot be a success, we aim to expand the scheme and work with a larger number of ICS'/Health Boards.
Aims of the Respiratory Champions
This project aims to secure improvements to respiratory policies, services and clinical practice within these NHS areas, so that over time respiratory-related health outcomes will also improve.
To do this the Respiratory Champions will be working directly with healthcare professional across the system and local NHS leadership and management to shine a light on respiratory conditions and services in that area.
Specific aims include:
- To influence policies, services, and clinical practice in their local ICS to improve respiratory-related health outcomes.
- To build relationships with key members of the ICS and local health system.
- To develop a network of colleagues to effect change at all levels, from policy making to clinical activities - using available data to identify local strengths and weaknesses
- To create a bespoke action plan thus improving standards of basic care (e.g. regular review, good inhaler technique, early and quality diagnostics); reducing inappropriate use of rescue medicines (courses of oral steroids and in asthma only, SABA relievers); optimising primary and secondary prevention of attacks and exacerbations; and ensuring equity of access to specialist care/treatment for severe disease.
- To identify areas with the biggest opportunity to optimise care and outcomes for asthma/COPD, and pinpoint key barriers to improvement.
- To work with relevant clinical leads, programme managers and colleagues at an ICS level to help coordinate work on respiratory care in the most effective way for local needs and priorities.
- To support A+LUKs current strategic goals and promote A+LUK’s innovative work and mission.
Meet the Team
The Respiratory Champions biographies
Samantha Hayes – Consultant Respiratory Physiotherapist for Cheshire and Merseyside ICS
Sam is a consultant respiratory physiotherapist, with over 20 years’ experience working within the NHS, and has for the last 12 years worked in an integrated community respiratory service in Knowsley. As part of this role Sam is involved in respiratory diagnostic and optimisation clinics and is a non-medical prescriber.
Sam also provides senior clinical oversight to the local acute respiratory infection virtual ward. Sam is the clinical lead for pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) for Cheshire and Merseyside (C&M) and has worked with all nine PR service to agree and design a single PR service spec for the region to reduce variation in PR provision across C&M.
Sam is currently undertaking a PhD looking at how peer interventions can increase uptake in pulmonary rehabilitation.
Victoria Campbell – Respiratory Nurse Consultant for Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent ICS
Vicky Campbell is a Respiratory Nurse Consultant who clinically leads a large community based multi-professional respiratory team in Staffordshire on behalf of Midlands Partnership University Foundation NHS Trust.
Working in the NHS as a registered nurse for 30 years, Vicky has spent time equally in community and acute hospital care settings. Her experience covers not only respiratory medicine and emergency portals, but also has a wider interest in long term conditions.
Vicky has been a strong advocate for improving respiratory care in Staffordshire, delivering educational support to colleagues and students across many service areas. Vicky has supported the local Breath Easy group for 15 years.
Deborah Leese – Senior Pharmacist Clinical Lead Respiratory/Co-Clinical Lead CYP Asthma for South Yorkshire ICS
Deborah studied pharmacy at the University of Bradford qualifying in 2000 with a first class honours degree. She has held various roles in the private sector and joined the NHS in 2009 holding clinical pharmacist roles for Sheffield PCT, South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw Commissioning Support Unit, Sheffield CCG and currently South Yorkshire ICS.
In 2016 Deborah qualified as a pharmacist independent prescriber from Robert Gordon University Aberdeen and during that training chose respiratory as her clinical area of interest. She was appointed as lead pharmacist for respiratory for the Sheffield Medicines Optimisation Team in 2016. Since then she has led on the development of local guidance for asthma and COPD. She has also developed many initiatives for inhaler optimisation. Deborah chairs the South Yorkshire Sustainable Respiratory Group and the South Yorkshire Respiratory Medicines Group. She is Vice Chair of the service development committee for the Primary Care Respiratory Society, is part of the PCRS Asthma Right Care core team and sits on the PCRS Policy Forum.
Most recently Deborah has been appointed as Co-clinical Lead for CYP Asthma for South Yorkshire and is looking forward to working with Asthma + Lung UK as part of the Respiratory Champions Project.
Maria Eurton – Clinical Respiratory Nurse Specialist for Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICS
Maria has worked in respiratory medicine since qualifying as a registered nurse (RN) in 2010. She has experience in acute respiratory nursing and research nursing, before becoming a respiratory nurse specialist in 2014. She has also worked in the private sector which allowed her to work within different ICS', providing mentorship and education for practice nurses, GPs and other allied health professionals. She regularly delivered respiratory education modules on a 1:1 basis and in larger groups.
Maria currently works as a clinical respiratory nurse specialist at a large Primary Care Network (PCN) in Southampton. She supports healthcare professionals within the PCN and reviews respiratory patients with complex needs. She works closely within the Urgent Care Team to provide acute respiratory care for patients and optimise their treatment based on the most current guidelines.
Maria has level 6 and 7 courses in COPD, Asthma, Respiratory Diagnostics and Non-Medical Prescribing. She won the Association of Respiratory Nurses (ARNS) Respiratory Rising Star award in 2016 and is currently the Diagnostics lead for ARNS. She is part of the Southampton City Airways Forum committee and is passionate about improving and maintaining communication links between Primary, Secondary and Tertiary care.
Matthew Swallow – General Practitioner with an extended Role in Respiratory Medicine for Birmingham and Solihull ICS
Matthew Swallow graduated with distinction from Peninsula Medical School in 2012. After completing his foundation training in the West Midlands, he joined the South Birmingham GP Vocational Training Scheme. During his GP training, he was awarded an Academic Clinical Fellow post at the University of Birmingham, working on several projects with the Birmingham Lung Improvement Studies (BLISS) team. He completed an MSc in ‘Clinical Primary and Community Care’ with a respiratory research focus.
Dr. Swallow is a GP partner and trainer at Bournbrook Varsity Medical Centre. In January 2020, he began working in various Community Respiratory Clinics across Birmingham and the Black Country. He was formally appraised as a GP with an Extended Role in Respiratory Medicine in August 2020.
Currently, Dr. Swallow is the Respiratory Lead for the SDS myhealthcare federation, serving nearly half a million patients with a community respiratory service and diagnostic hub. In his Respiratory Champion Role, he will work as a senior leader in Birmingham and Solihull ICS to redesign respiratory diagnostic and management pathways. His focus will be on developing a sustainable, data-driven approach to community respiratory diagnostics and management. He will foster collaboration between primary and secondary care for integrated service provision.
Sharada Gudur – Consultant Respiratory Physician for Lancashire and South Cumbria ICS
Sharada started her NHS career as a North-West trainee in 2005 and has rotated through various hospitals in the North-West deanery as part of respiratory specialist training programme. She started working as a consultant respiratory physician since 2016 in Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS trust. She is passionate about integrated care and has been working with community COPD team as part of Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation trust bridging the gaps between the services. She has also participated in NHSE programmes such as 100 day challenge to improve patient pathways and promote self-management working across boundaries with primary care. She had been the acute clinical lead for Lancashire and South Cumbria respiratory clinical network from May 2022 – Feb 2024, which has made her passionate to work towards the respiratory champion role.
Outside of work, she enjoys listening to Indian classical music, sings light music as part of local Indian music group called “Red rose ragas” and spending time with family and friends.
Asthma + Lung UK biographies
Claire Fisher - Project Manager of Respiratory Champions pilot programme at Asthma + Lung UK. Respiratory Nurse Specialist and Advanced Nurse Practitioner
Claire first qualified with a BSc (hons) degree in Adult nursing in 1996 and has worked in a variety of acute health care settings since this time finding her passion in asthma and respiratory conditions in the last decade of her nursing career.
Claire is now a Respiratory Nurse Specialist, on secondment from the A+LUK helpline, she is also an Advanced Nurse Practitioner and non-medical prescriber working mainly in primary care and Walk-in centres. She gained her MSc in Advanced Practice (Clinical) with distinction in 2006 at the University of Surrey.
Outside of work she enjoys holidays far away, and spending quality time with her family.
Dr Andrew Whittamore - Clinical Lead at Asthma + Lung UK and General Practitioner
Dr Andy Whittamore has worked in General Practice for 20 years.
He was part of the inaugural PCRS Respiratory Leaders cohort and has had a number of regional and national roles including Primary Care Lead, South Central SHA Respiratory Programme; Primary Care Lead, Wessex AHSN Respiratory Programme; Clinical Champion, NHS England FeNO Programme; PCRS Executive Committee; PCRS Conference Co-Chair.
He joined Asthma UK in 2016 and, following the merger with British Lung Foundation, is the Clinical Lead of Asthma + Lung UK. His roles and responsibilities include clinical governance and clinical insights and support for the whole organisation, especially the Helpline, Health Advice, Policy and Media teams.
Away from work he enjoys walking with his 2 dogs, attempts paddleboarding and kayaking and is still trying to come to terms with having 2 older teenage boys.
Jon Foster - Policy Manager at Asthma + Lung UK
Jon has worked for A+LUK for three years and leads the charities health influencing team across both local and national NHS systems. He has worked on a number of large projects, including working with PwC to produce the Saving Your Breath report, and has covered a wide range of policy areas including green inhalers, smoking, COPD and health inequalities.
Jon previously worked for the Institute of Alcohol Studies, where he did a lot of work to support the inclusion health issues within licensing decisions and has also worked for a disability charity and within international development project management.
Away from work Jon enjoys family walks with the dog, especially when followed by a pub lunch, reading, and is attempting to learn French.