Breathe Easy Telford & District had its launch meeting on 1 February 2001 at the Princess Royal Hospital with distinguished guests including the Mayor of Wellington and a representative from British Lung Foundation.
This was the formation of a social support Group under the British Lung Foundation’s Breathe Easy network across the UK, for residents of Telford & District who were living with lung disease and/or their carers.
The Group started meeting monthly and on the 30 May 2001, 220 Red Balloons were released from the Princess Royal Hospital's car park as part of 20,000 balloons released nationwide all in the interests of Lung Research.
The Group continued to expand over the years and the monthly meetings moved to the Wellington Civic Centre and then to the Wellington Methodist Church in 2017.
Starting in 2018 British Lung Foundation began a restructuring of their Breathe Easy support network. We became an affiliated group to British Lung Foundation in July 2021.
Speakers from the medical professions visit us, including our local Respiratory Consultants. We also have non-medical speakers, giving memorable presentations from a variety of disciplines. Members of the Community
The local Respiratory Nursing Team attend most meetings. We also have regular visits from
the NHS Telford and Wrekin Wellbeing Service.
Llandudno, Chester boat trip, with Lunch, Lunch on the Severn Valley Railway, David Austin Roses and the National Arboretum to name a few destinations for day trips enjoyed by the Group over the years.
Members are also welcome to join in a monthly luncheon at the Wickets Inn, Wellington.
Asthma UK and the British Lung Foundation joined forces in 2020, rebranding in February 2022, reflecting on the charity’s ambitious new strategy to rebrand lung disease. When Asthma UK and the British Lung Foundation merged in 2020 to become a partnership it was a huge milestone for the charities. It gave us a more united voice when advocating and campaigning for people with asthma and other lung conditions and enabled our helpline teams to expand their knowledge of various lung conditions to help provide more comprehensive advice for our beneficiaries.
Our monthly Group meetings moved to Hadley United Services & Village Club in April 2022.