Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the capacity of interstitial lung disease specialist centres, in the context of increased eligibility for antifibrotic treatment.

NHS England is responsible for the commissioning of interstitial lung disease (ILD) services and funds the high-cost, anti-fibrotic treatments. Access to these treatments was widened to people with non-idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, with the publication of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s Technology Appraisal 747 in November 2021. NHS England outlines the requirements of a quality service in its ILD service specification, and requires the completion of quality metrics through the ILD Specialised Services Quality Dashboard. This helps ensure that ILD teams provide appropriate support to patients living with this condition. Earlier diagnosis and treatment improve outcomes for patients.

Moreover, the Specialised Respiratory Clinical Reference Group contains clinical members who are able to advise NHS England in relation to ILD services, and includes a member of a pulmonary fibrosis charity, Action for Pulmonary Fibrosis (APF), as one of its Patient and Public Voice members. APF has recently issued a report on patient experience, which is helping to inform pathway redesign as well as raise awareness of the condition.