- Are facemasks a good idea for respiratory patients?
- Joint respiratory supports during COVID-19 are sponsored by Bank of Ireland, through the Community Foundation
- Respiratory patients encouraged to join free COVID-19 webinar on respiratory medicines
The Asthma Society of Ireland, Cystic Fibrosis Ireland and Irish Lung Fibrosis have teamed up together to host a free webinar on Zoom for healthcare professionals and respiratory patients, to discuss respiratory medicine in Ireland during the time of COVID-19. The webinar, which was made possible by a grant provided by the Bank of Ireland and the Community Foundation, will take place on Thursday 4th June at 5pm.
The webinar will be an informative and interactive discussion. The speaker panel will include perspectives from Ireland’s medical and nursing professionals working on the frontline of COVID-19, as well as patient advocates with experience of respiratory illness. The webinar will also highlight some recent patient survey results, providing insight into how patients have managed their condition during the pandemic.
Sarah O’Connor, CEO of the Asthma Society of Ireland, said: “We are delighted to partner with Cystic Fibrosis Ireland and Irish Lung Fibrosis for this initiative. People with respiratory conditions all over Ireland are currently worried that their condition will lead to complications if they do contract coronavirus. This joint patient organisation webinar will help these people properly understand what COVID-19 means for their condition, while also giving them a chance to speak to some of the leading experts in the respiratory field. We are encouraging all healthcare professionals and patients with respiratory conditions to participate in our free webinar. The webinar will be a very valuable patient listening and learning opportunity for healthcare professionals, as they hear more from Ireland’s leading experts.”
Philip Watt, CEO of Cystic Fibrosis Ireland, said: “Cystic Fibrosis Ireland is pleased to be in partnership with some of our sister organisations that are concerned with lung issues and we welcome the support of the Community Foundation of Ireland for this project.”
Nicola Cassidy, Director of the Irish Lung Fibrosis Association (ILFA), said: “The ILFA is extremely grateful to the Community Foundation of Ireland and Bank of Ireland for their support to respiratory charities during the COVID-19 pandemic. This welcome and much appreciated funding has enabled ILFA to continue to support our members and focus on well-being initiatives during this challenging time. We are delighted to collaborate with the Asthma Society of Ireland and Cystic Fibrosis Ireland to deliver an educational webinar with respiratory health experts and patient advocates, and a series of mindfulness activities to support patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals.
Speakers will include:
- Professor Richard Costello
- Professor Anthony O’Regan
- Dr. Anne Marie Russell
The webinar aims to discuss a broad range of respiratory related COVID-19 topics such as, use of face coverings (masks), how behaviour change has played a key role, virtual health services and how services can reopen safely in coming weeks and months for respiratory patients. The webinar will also discuss respiratory patients’ experiences of COVID-19 and the pandemic directly from patients, and from recent patient survey results.
The joint respiratory supports provided by the three patient organisations (funded by Bank of Ireland through the Community Foundation) will also include joint mindfulness sessions provided electronically for all respiratory patients, to be rolled out in mid-June.
This is a free event for both patients and healthcare professionals and will be hosted on Zoom. Registration is free and easy and can be completed by clicking this here.
There will be a Q&A session at the end of the webinar. Patients who have questions for the guest speakers, should include them on their registration form and organisers will do their best to have them answered.
