1 in 4 Western Australians over the age of 65 have Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). It is the second leading cause of avoidable hospital admissions, and 7,000 Australians will die this year. Respiratory Care WA is the only organisation in WA offering free, personalised services for people with COPD, including diagnosis, education, and resources.

Post COVID, we experienced a significant increase in demand for our services and identified a need for integrated, community, bulk-billed Respiratory Hubs, plus expansion to service our COPD consumers.

Since expanding less than two years ago, the demand for COPD services has exponentially increased to 40% of our consumers experiencing a primary diagnosis of COPD (~2,500 per year).

The Respiratory Care WA team identified the need for clinical experts to drive service development and delivery for our consumers and support upskilling and best practice healthcare for our health services team.

In 2021 the McCusker Foundation first funded Respiratory Care WA’s McCusker Respiratory Nurse, at $120,000 per year.

The McCusker Respiratory Health Nurse role at Respiratory Care WA is pivotal to growing service capability, not only for consumers but also in our Health Services Team.

The implementation of this role has helped support the development of the team. The McCusker Respiratory Health Nurse allows Respiratory Care WA to deliver a comprehensive clinical support service to an increased number of people throughout WA as well as the expansion of Lung Function Testing and monitoring in the community.

The McCusker Respiratory Health Nurse has also been involved in education and support to the wider community through clinics and Health Professional upskilling workshops.

McCusker Foundation have now renewed this funding every year, for the last three years.