PSNC is urging community pharmacy teams to support this year's World COPD Day, which falls on Wednesday 16 November.

The event, which is organised by the British Lung Foundation (BLF), is encouraging people who get out of breath doing everyday activities to take a simple online breath test on its website. Depending on their results, users will be given information about their symptoms and advised to seek further advice from a healthcare professional if necessary.

More than one million people are living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in England and in 2013/14 NHS Digital figures showed that COPD led to over 113,000 emergency hospital admissions with approximately 25,000 people dying from the condition each year.

Various resources are available to pharmacy teams, including a range of free leaflets, booklets, and other materials on COPD and other respiratory conditions. Pharmacy teams can also signpost customers towards BLF's web community, helpline: 03000 030 555, and local support finder, as well as suggesting that they sign up for email updates via the BLF website.