Memorandum from the British Lung Foundation
(DDB 40)
1. The British Lung Foundation welcomes
the opportunity to contribute to the consultation on the Draft
Disability Discrimination Bill.
2. There is only one theme in your terms
of reference on which we feel qualified to comment. This is point
6, the proposed change to the definition of disability.
3. The British Lung Foundation is the only
charity working to support the eight million people suffering
with all lung diseases in the UK.
4. We welcome the recognition of cancer,
HIV and multiple sclerosis as disabling conditions, but also feel
that severe respiratory conditions such as chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease (COPD) are equally disabling and should be included
in the Bill.
5. COPD is the only major cause of death
on the increase with an estimated 900,000 million sufferers diagnosed
in UK[15].
There were 24,247 deaths from COPD recorded in 2002, compared
with 11,573 deaths from breast cancer and 3,275 transport related
deaths.
6. People who have COPD are nearly always
short of breath. They have a persistent cough, and are plagued
with a thick, sticky phlegm. As the disease progresses, patients
can experience a lung attack—a sudden worsening of symptoms,
including extreme breathlessness, which can lead to extended hospitalisation
and death.
7. Many people with COPD have a walking
range of less than 25 yards which is accepted as a severe disability
by the Department of Work and Pensions when deciding on disability
benefits.
8. These lung attacks can be so bad that
80% of those admitted to hospital with an attack say the experience
feels "worse than death"[16].
9. Lung attacks can be brought on by just
about any type of activity, even just walking from the living
room to kitchen to make a cup of tea or climbing the stairs.
10. A recent British Lung Foundation (BLF)
survey of 1,388 COPD patients, revealed that fear of an attack
is so extreme that many sufferers are simply too scared to do
what most people take for granted, for example being intimate
with a partner, going to the pub and joining in family events
like birthdays and weddings. The impact is such that many COPD
patients confess they have given up hope of ever being able to
live a normal life again[17].
11. COPD is a little known disease which
affects many hundreds of thousands of people. The public does
not understand it. Recognition in the Bill is the only way in
which sufferers will be able to be considered on a par with other
equally debilitating, but better known, diseases.
I have enclosed a copy of the British Lung Foundation
survey "Breathing Fear" for additional information on
the effect COPD has on the lives of sufferers.
We would be happy to provide additional evidence
to assist the committee in their consideration of the Bill.
February 2004
15 Lung Report III (2003), British Lung Foundation. Back
16
J O'Reilly, A E Williams, G Ledger and L Rice. Health Utility
Burden of Exacerbation in COPD Requiring Admission into Hospital
as Measured by the EQ-5D. Am Journal of Resp Crit Care Med 2003;
167(7) A226. Back
17
Breathing Fear (co-ordination by the British Lung Foundation)-survey
of 1,388 people with COPD commission by Allen & Hanburys and
the BLF. Back
| 
