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Taskforce launched to tackle lung disease in the UK

The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) and the British Lung Foundation (BLF) have joined forces to launch a taskforce for lung health in the UK.

Lung disease is a significant cause of mortality in the UK, ranking as the third biggest killer with 115,000 people a year dying from it. Current forms of treatment for most lung diseases include bronchodilators and steroids and recent innovations in lung disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment, such as pilots to screen and diagnose lung cancer, have led to improvements.

This new taskforce, which will be chaired by Dr Penny Woods, chief executive of the BLF, will produce a new national five-year prevention, diagnosis and treatment plan for lung health.

“We are proud to be supporting the first ever Taskforce for Lung Health. We know from the patients that, despite some great examples of care and treatment, the big picture for people with a lung conditions just isn't good enough. Lung disease is the third biggest killer in the UK. It affects the lives of over 12 million people and costs the economy billions each year,” explained Wood. “Our ambition is to work with patients, professionals, the NHS and the pharmaceutical industry to design and publish a new, five-year plan for lung health. Like the cancer and mental health taskforces before, this will lead to a step change in how we prevent, diagnose and treat respiratory disease.

“Lung patients should be able to expect world class care. Our plan will make sure everyone affected by lung disease gets the outcomes they deserve.”

“We are delighted to have the opportunity to bring the pharmaceutical industry’s expertise to bear as we work together to improve the state of lung health in the UK,” said Su Jones, NHS engagement partner at the ABPI and national lead for Accelerating Access and Uptake. “With lung disease responsible for more than 700,000 hospital admissions and over 6 million inpatient bed-days in the UK each year, this new group should have its sights set on delivering genuine results. Accelerating access and uptake of the latest preventative measures, diagnostic tools and personalised treatments can and will save the NHS time and money. I’d hope that by 2022/23 we will have seen valuable steps forward in all of these areas, improving the quality of live for the millions of Britons currently suffering from respiratory conditions.”

“Respiratory disease, particularly asthma and COPD remains a substantial burden on health services especially with ageing populations and the co-existence of other non-communicable diseases,” added Professor Mike Morgan, national clinical director for respiratory for NHS England. “Although progress has been made, both conditions will continue to require improvements in the delivery of treatment. This is particularly important with the development a stratified medicine approach with new drugs and a more population based approach to commissioning.”

Alongside the ABPI and its members, other taskforce members include:

The new taskforce will begin gathering evidence in January 2018 and is scheduled to publish its first report by late 2018.

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