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 ensuring that there are asthma specialist pharmacists in all regions.

No recent assessment has been undertaken on this subject.

There are currently 14 severe asthma centres in England. All specialist providers are required to develop a networked model of care as the vehicle for delivering an optimal pathway and maximising patient outcomes and experience.

It is expected that National Health Service patients with severe asthma are referred to their specialist asthma service by secondary care physicians where they will receive appropriate investigation and treatment.

Respiratory disease is a clinical priority within the recently published NHS Long Term Plan. The Plan has the overarching objective of improving outcomes for people with respiratory disease, including asthma.