Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the British Lung Foundation Failing on the fundamentals: Insights from those living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) around the UK, published in November; and what plans they have to improve the percentage of people with COPD who are receiving the Five Fundamentals of COPD Care.

NHS England and NHS Improvement have considered the report and are discussing the findings with the British Lung Foundation and Asthma UK. NHS England and NHS Improvement has a duty of regard in relation to the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence’s quality standards, including the Five Fundamentals of COPD Care. Clinical commissioning groups should have regard to them in planning and delivery of services, as part of a general duty to secure continuous improvement in quality.

The NHS Long Term Plan focuses on expanding pulmonary rehabilitation services over 10 years, to prevent 500,000 exacerbations and avoid 80,000 admissions. Thirty seven ‘early adopter’ community diagnostic centres will provide additional capacity for 610,000 diagnostic tests in 2021/22 and over 813,000 tests in the next 12 months. Local systems are also asked to review plans and progress against the NHS Long Term Plan to support key clinical conditions. For respiratory conditions, this includes pulmonary rehabilitation and spirometry.