Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to move care for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease from hospitals into community settings.

NHS England is leading on the development of an approach for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease management to support proactive identification and management of rising risk patients in winter to reduce demand on primary and secondary care. The approach fully aligns with a Neighbourhood Health Service model and includes: identification of rising risk patients through a nationally developed search tool for use in General Practice IT and clinical review; optimisation of care through an in depth OPTIMISE review by a respiratory specialist in an integrated team to prevent deterioration; support and management through remote monitoring and a greater focus on self-management and education; and strengthened support via access to support in the community, for example, through out of hours and seven-day service.

OPTIMISE includes eight processes of care:

• optimise treatment;
• pulmonary rehabilitation;
• tobacco dependence;
• inhaler technique;
• maximising vaccination coverage;
• increasing physical activity;
• support for psychological wellbeing; and
• education and self-management.

To assist with the testing of this approach and to support services this winter, NHS England has developed a range of accompanying resources, including a patient search tool to identify potential patients who would benefit from review and a template to support the OPTIMISE review.