Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to improve access to pulmonary rehabilitation for adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease living in Blaydon and Consett constituency.

In the Blaydon and Consett area, pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is primarily delivered by the Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust. Since April 2024, the trust's physiotherapy and occupational therapy services have undertaken a comprehensive redesign of the PR service. This restructure aims to ensure equity of access for all patients across the referral catchment area and to guarantee consistency in both the clinical content and delivery of the course.

The redesigned service is now fully operational, and the trust will be monitoring patient outcomes and attendance figures throughout the coming year to ensure the new structure delivers the intended improvements in patient health and service reach.