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 ensure that patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease receive community-based care with specialist input; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of that approach.

NHS England is investing £3.61 million of funding to expand an approach that allows more people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) at rising risk of admission to be proactively identified and supported during winter 2025/26. A nationally coordinated evaluation is planned to take place, providing a consistent evidence base, sharing learning, and informing future investment in interventions to reduce COPD emergency admissions.

As part of the implementation of the 10-Year Health Plan, we are expanding neighbourhood teams and exploring how new roles such as the community health worker model can be tailored to support Core20PLUS5 populations including those with COPD.