Basingstoke MP Maria Miller was pleased to support the new Taskforce for Lung Health earlier this year, bringing together 29 members from across the lung health sector including patients, healthcare professionals, the voluntary sector and industry, to develop a five-year plan for improving lung health in England.
The Taskforce has recently published its five-year Plan, setting out its recommendations for each area of the patient pathway – prevention, diagnosis, treatment and medicines, living with a lung disease, end of life care and workforce. The plan can be viewed at www.blf.org.uk/taskforce/plan
Lung disease is one of the top three killers in the UK, with 115,000 people dying every year. It is estimated that the NHS spends £9.9 billion each year on lung disease, including lung cancer and respiratory infections, making it the fourth most costly disease area.
Maria said: “Unfortunately, we haven’t seen any improvements in the number of people dying from lung disease in over a decade and I welcome the Taskforce for Lung Health’s Plan, which aims to make a real difference for people living with lung disease.”
“The Taskforce’s report makes important recommendations to transform care and treatment for people with lung disease and I hope that the NHS and the Government will give them very careful consideration.”
“It is really encouraging that the NHS has already announced that its new long-term plan will include a respiratory programme as a clinical priority area, and I look forward to seeing the detail of this when it is published.”