Pulmonary Rehabilitation

Pulmonary Rehabilitation is an exercise and education program for people with lung disease. We teach you the skills you need to exercise safely and to manage your breathlessness.

About this service

Pulmonary Rehabilitation is an eight-week program that includes supervised exercise classes and information sessions on a range of topics.

Our Pulmonary Rehabilitation exercise classes are run by physiotherapists and allied health assistants. These sessions include upper and lower body exercises aimed to improve your endurance and muscle strength.

Our information sessions are run by physiotherapists, psychologists, dietitians, social workers, advanced care planners, nurses, and pharmacists. We aim to give you information that will help you understand your lung condition and what you can do to manage your symptoms, such as breathlessness.

Who we care for

Our services are available for patients who are referred by a respiratory specialist, physiotherapist, or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Clinical Nurse Consultant (COPD CNC).

We help people who have been diagnosed with chronic lung conditions, including:

• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
• Bronchiectasis
• Pulmonary Fibrosis
• Interstitial Lung disease
• Asthma
• Pulmonary Hypertension
• Pre and Post Lung transplant.

If you require oxygen or currently smoke, you are also eligible and encouraged to attend.

This service is free if you have a Medicare Card.

How to access this service

Your respiratory specialist, physiotherapist or COPD nurse will organise for you to access this service.

We do not accept referrals directly from GPs. Your GP can ask your respiratory specialist to make a referral. If you do not have a respiratory specialist, you can ask your GP to refer you to one.

What to expect

Our referrals are triaged to ensure patients with the highest need are seen first. This is based on your risk of your condition getting worse.

You will receive a letter to confirm we have received your referral and give you an estimate of how long it will be until you can attend Pulmonary Rehabilitation.

You will be contacted by phone when an appointment becomes available.

Before your first exercise session you will attend an initial assessment. This will take one hour. During this session you will complete a walking test and a questionnaire. Please wear comfortable clothing and walking shoes. At the end of this appointment, you will be booked into the next available exercise class. You will be sent a letter with the dates for all the sessions in your eight-week program.

Exercise classes are run twice a week and last 90 minutes. Information sessions are run after the class once a week and go for 45 minutes.

You should wear walking shoes and comfortable clothing suitable for exercising. Please bring a bottle of water with you to the exercise classes. If you take puffers to help your breathlessness, you should bring them also.

At the end of the program, we will help you plan for how to keep exercising safely in the future.

What to bring to your appointment

• Medicare card
• Any letters or correspondence from your GP
• Medicines you need to take while you are here
• List of medicines you are currently taking (or the boxes), including medicines you have bought without a prescription, such as herbal supplements and vitamins
• Previous x-ray films, scans, ultrasounds or any other test results or reports
• A bottle of water for exercise classes
• Any puffers for breathlessness.

Where we’re located

Canberra Hospital, Building 15, Level 1.

We have directions to Canberra Hospital.