Key Summary
- The UK government is co-funding a £10 million partnership alongside NHS England and major pharmaceutical companies to transform respiratory care.
- In line with the 10-Year Health Plan, the programme will shift the management of asthma and COPD from hospitals into local primary care settings.
- The RTP involves a coalition including AstraZeneca, Chiesi, GSK, and Sanofi, alongside 15 health innovation networks.
UK government is planning a £10 million partnership to help treating patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) receive better care closer to home.
The Respiratory Transformation Partnership (RTP) is a joint effort between NHS England, the Office for Life Sciences, 15 health innovation networks, and four leading pharmaceutical firms: AstraZeneca, Chiesi, GSK, and Sanofi.
The RTP aims to support local teams to identify and treat the roughly 1 in 5 people affected by respiratory illness during their lifetime, with a specific focus on the most underserved communities.
Health minister Dr Zubir Ahmed said: “Too many people with asthma and lung disease end up rushed to hospital when, with the right care and support, that admission could have been avoided entirely. For far too long these patients have been let down because of a broken system.
“This £10 million partnership is a concrete example of what our reform agenda looks like in practice - shifting care out of hospitals and into communities, using data to reach patients who have been missed, and working hand in hand with industry to get the best treatments to the people who need them most.”
Respiratory disease currently stands as the third leading cause of death in the UK. It contributes to more than 700,000 hospital admissions and approximately six million inpatient bed days annually, the vast majority of which are unplanned.
The programme is chaired by Jonathan Fuld, National Clinical Director for Respiratory Disease, and is being co-ordinated by Health Innovation Oxford and Thames Valley on behalf of the Health Innovation Network.
Dr Fuld said, “Around one in five people in England will be affected by respiratory illness in their lifetime and far too many are living with symptoms that are undiagnosed or poorly managed, often in communities that already face the greatest health challenges.
“The RTP can be a blueprint for how partnerships between the NHS, charities, professional bodies and pharmaceutical companies can deliver better outcomes for people in every part of the country by improving rates of diagnosis, providing ongoing care and advice in local, neighbourhood services and offering innovative treatments that can keep people out of hospital.
The RTP is further backed by a broad coalition of clinical and patient organizations, including Asthma and Lung UK, the British Thoracic Society, and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
