Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Health Services
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve health outcomes for people living with COPD.
Answered by Mrs Sharon Hodgson
To enable faster diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and earlier access to treatment, access to spirometry tests in community diagnostic centres is growing and will continue to do so as more sites come online.
Pulmonary rehabilitation is a key intervention to improve the health of people with COPD. NHS England has published commissioning standards for pulmonary rehabilitation and COPD, setting out the benchmarks for high-quality services. This includes reducing health inequalities and ensuring equitable access.
In addition, smoking is the number one preventable cause of COPD. The landmark Tobacco and Vapes Act will help deliver our ambition for a smoke-free United Kingdom.
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