A ROBOROUGH GP has received a massive national award to further his research into respiratory disease.
Dr Rupert Jones, also a researcher at the year-old Peninsula Medical School, has been given the coveted Primary Care Researcher Development Award, worth £270,000, to develop groundbreaking research into respiratory disease, including Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), and complete his Medical Doctorate.
Dr Jones, who has worked as a GP for 17 years, said: ?I am delighted to have won this award and it will enable me to extend my research to develop a new form of Pulmonary rehabilitation, delivered at home for those individuals not able to attend treatment centres.?
COPD is mainly caused by cigarettes, but fumes and genetics can also play a part, and the disease accounts for more than 12% of medical hospital admissions in the UK.
Exercise is one of the most effective treatments for the condition, but can be very difficult. Part of Dr Jones work has been to develop a programme of exercise and education to improve patients? physical fitness and quality of life.
The Primary Care award will allow Dr Jones to develop a new form of rehabilitation, for severe sufferers of the disease, including palliative care and alternative therapies such as aromatherapy and massage ? treatments not normally available to those dying of COPD.