Covid Support Group Founder to attend virtual awards

Founder of Post Covid/Long Covid Support Group to attend virtual awards

Occupational therapist James Wyatt, the founder of Northampton-based charity group Singing4Breathing (S4B) will be attending the Northamptonshire Law Society virtual awards on 11 |June this year as the representative of the ‘president’s good cause’.

S4B organises choral groups throughout the county, but what makes the S4B choirs different from any other is the fact that each member suffers from a respiratory illness and most have been diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Sharine Burgess, president of the Northamptonshire Law Society, has worked closely with Singing4Breathing and said it was fitting for the legal community in Northampton to be involved with such an inspiring group of people:

The number of people with COPD is growing and figures recorded by The British Lung Foundation show that there has been a 27% increase in the last ten years. Respiratory

disease is the third leading cause of death in England after circulatory conditions and cancer according to figures from the Northamptonshire Health & Wellbeing Board. Corby Clinical Commissioning Group has reported that the rate of COPD in Corby is higher than the average rates across the UK and the town has the highest incidence rates in Northamptonshire – due in part to the heavy industries that employed most of the town’s population. S4B recently launched a new Post Covid Support Recovery Group (PCRG) to help people who suffer post Covid or long Covid manage their breathlessness and other symptoms. Originally scheduled to start March 2021, the launch had to be postponed until April 2021 as one of the organisers was diagnosed with Covid and had to self-isolate. The 40-minute virtual sessions will be accessible not just in Northamptonshire, but across the UK, and will feature breathing exercises and advice from S4B’s own GP, Dr Tom Evans, who will be available online to answer questions.

Anyone can register for the PCRG session by emailing: hello@singing4breathing.co.uk or contact the charity via social media (https://www.facebook.com/copdsingers/ or https://twitter.com/CopdSingers).