Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support people with pulmonary fibrosis.

NHS England is responsible for the commissioning of services for interstitial lung disease and funds the cost of anti-fibrotic treatments to treat this disease. Access to these treatments has recently been expanded to patients with non-idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, following the publication of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s technology appraisal Nintedanib for treating progressive fibrosing interstitial lung diseases, in November 2021.

In order to increase awareness of pulmonary fibrosis, NHS England has established 13 Respiratory Clinical Networks across the country. These have been vital in providing clinical leadership for respiratory services and supporting services in primary care, including restoring spirometry, which is one of the tests used to diagnose pulmonary fibrosis.

Pulmonary rehabilitation plays an important role in the management of patients with pulmonary fibrosis, and should be made available to all patients who would benefit from this intervention.