How One Peer Support Group has Survived and Thrived

NottinghamshireSelf Help GroupsSelf Help UK News

On 1st March 2023, Breathe Easy Nottingham celebrated 20 years of their peer support group. Breathe Easy Nottingham are a self-help group for anybody with a lung problem, their carers, family, and friends. In the extract below, members tell us about their group – how it was established, what they’ve done for it to be a ...

read time3 min

On 1st March 2023, Breathe Easy Nottingham celebrated 20 years of their peer support group.

Breathe Easy Nottingham are a self-help group for anybody with a lung problem, their carers, family, and friends.

In the extract below, members tell us about their group – how it was established, what they’ve done for it to be a success for so long, and why their group is so needed.

“I don’t need to tell anybody reading this newsletter how important such groups are, particularly for those with a hidden health problem. “Well, you look all right”, can be a kick in the teeth and our members gain so much from getting together with others in the same boat and realising they can have a good quality of life after their diagnosis.

The British Lung Foundation (BLF), founded in 1985, soon realized the need for support groups which became known as Breathe Easy groups. One was finally set up in Nottingham thanks to Wendy Berridge, a QMC respiratory nurse, with backing from other interested people, some of whom came to our celebration. We have a committee of around 11/12 members, some with a lung condition, others carers or involved in health care, who generally organise things.  Four are from the original committee! But other members also share tasks, and we regularly have workshops enabling members to give their views on how the group is run.

So, what do we do? Well, we meet on the first Wednesday of each month at Welbeck Hall, by Trent Bridge, where members can get lunch and drinks at the bar and socialise before the programme starts. From the beginning we hit on the formula of half and half health-related talks and the purely social. Members still say this is the best plan. So over 20 years we’ve had many talks directly relating to lung conditions and coping with them and we’ve been very fortunate for a variety of health care professionals giving up their time to come and speak to us. It’s actually a bit harder to find the right sort of general speaker at a price we can afford but we’ve had some great talks e.g. from a guide dog user and an organisation which uses dogs to detect illness. We’ve had talks on local history, cheese tasting, a radio personality, and a film extra. An antiques specialist enabled us to bring in our treasures for evaluation and a first responder got us to practice resuscitation. We’ve sung, sometimes with the local U3A ukulele band, done some creative writing and celebrated VE Day. Quizzes can be popular and the Christmas Buffet essential….

…Our group does what it can to raise awareness with occasional stands at health events and in supermarkets etc. We also engage with our local NHS services to try to ensure gold standards of care are met everywhere. Ideally all newly diagnosed people would be referred to a support group.

Of course, support groups don’t work for everyone but for some, as one member said, “this group is like gold dust”.

Breathe Easy Nottingham

You can read the full article here.​

For support with setting up your own self-help or peer support group, visit our Learning Centre. Our Peer Support Group Starter Kit is a practical course that will equip you to start your own group.

You can also find groups near you in our online directory of self-help and peer support groups. 

Related Posts

Bridging the Digital Divide: A Healthier Future

read time3 min

Through our partnership with Digital Notts, we have been working to improve digital inclusion and health literacy in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. The Digital Notts project ...

Self Help UK latest news

Self Help UK Newsletter December 2024

read time3 min

Welcome to our November newsletter! Read the full newsletter here. Seasons Greetings from Self Help UK! Join Self Help UK for a festive season filled with ...

Join the Giving Tuesday Movement

read time3 min

This Giving Tuesday, let’s make a difference together. We know this time of year can be financially challenging, but even small acts of kindness can have ...