Asked by: Peter Prinsley (Labour - Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve health outcomes for people living with COPD.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
To enable faster diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and earlier access to treatment, access to spirometry tests in community diagnostic centres is growing and will continue to do so as more sites come online.
Pulmonary rehabilitation is a key intervention to improve the health of people with COPD. NHS England has published commissioning standards for pulmonary rehabilitation and COPD, setting out the benchmarks for high-quality services. This includes reducing health inequalities and ensuring equitable access.
In addition, smoking is the number one preventable cause of COPD. The landmark Tobacco and Vapes Act will help deliver our ambition for a smoke-free United Kingdom.
Asked by: Peter Prinsley (Labour - Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of using the NHS Lung Cancer Screening Programme to improve the earlier diagnosis of chronic respiratory diseases, including COPD.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The NHS Lung Cancer Screening Programme is designed to detect lung cancer at an earlier stage in people at high risk of developing the disease.
The Government is advised on all screening matters by the independent UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC). At its most recent review in June 2022, the UK NSC recommended targeted lung cancer screening for people aged 55 to 74 years old who are at high risk of developing lung cancer. The modelling that informed this recommendation did not include chronic respiratory diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
NHS England has introduced a national Incidental Findings Protocol to ensure clinically significant incidental findings are referred for appropriate investigation and follow-up through established National Health Service pathways.
In April 2026, the UK NSC concluded a three-month public consultation on screening for COPD. The outcome of this consultation will be published in due course. In addition, the UK NSC's annual open call for new evidence and proposals for screening programmes is currently open until 30 September 2026, providing an opportunity for individuals and organisations to submit proposals supported by evidence.