Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he makes of the benefits of pulmonary rehabilitation for people with chronic breathing problems; and what steps his Department is taking to improve access to pulmonary rehabilitation throughout the country.

Pulmonary rehabilitation can be an effective treatment for many people with chronic lung disease.

NHS England is working with partners to improve the treatment and care for respiratory disease. There have been several recent initiatives to improve care with tools and resources to support local health economies. These include:

- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and asthma;

- NHS RightCare COPD pathway – which includes pulmonary rehabilitation services; and

- COPD Best Practice Tariff.

The British Thoracic Society has a digital platform, supported by NHS England – ‘Respiratory Futures’, which enables collaboration in the respiratory community to support high quality respiratory care.