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 reduce the (a) incidence and (b) prevalence of respiratory illnesses.

The Department is taking action to reduce the incidence of respiratory illnesses such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), for example through the recently published Tobacco Control Plan and our commitment to tackling obesity. On 5 November, the Government’s Vision for Prevention, ‘Prevention is better than cure’ was published. This set out how prevention will be placed at the heart of our health and social care system for the long term. Next year, the Government will work with stakeholders to publish a Green Paper on prevention setting out Government plans in more detail, and seeking a wide range of views on what action is most needed.

The NHS Outcomes Framework sets out the Department’s priority areas for the National Health Service and includes reducing deaths from respiratory disease as a key indicator. There are currently a range of national initiatives focussed on respiratory disease that are being taken forward.

For COPD, the NHS RightCare COPD pathway is being rolled out nationally through clinical commissioning groups and defines the core components of an optimal service for people with COPD. NHS England supports the national Asthma and COPD Audit Programme, led by the Royal College of Physicians', which provides data on a range of indicators to show opportunities for improving COPD outcomes. As part of the national COPD audit programme, NHS England and NHS Improvement have developed a best practice tariff for COPD. The tariff is applicable to hospital trusts to promote best practice and ensure improvements in care.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence publishes quality standards that define best practice for areas in need of improvement for a range of respiratory illnesses including COPD, asthma and pulmonary fibrosis.

NHS England collaborate with NHS Improvement, Public Health England and the third sector to ensure all components of respiratory pathways including, identification, diagnosis, treatment and management of respiratory conditions are coordinated across the health system.