Commons Sense

House of Commons · Westminster Hall

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

17 November 2021 · 6 other contributors · 10,968 words

Opened by Mike Amesbury Lab Weaver Vale

Responding minister: Gillian Keegan

NHS

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Mike Amesbury raised concerns about chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Westminster Hall. A government minister responded.

Key points

  • COPD impacts 3 million people in the UK, with 2 million undiagnosed due to delayed diagnosis.
  • Early signs of COPD include shortness of breath and chronic cough, often diagnosed too late.
  • The Government aims to support COPD patients by adhering to NICE guidelines and improving public awareness.

Key requests to Government

The Government should ensure that people with COPD receive early diagnosis and adhere to NICE guidelines for care. This includes ensuring everyone has access to written management plans, pulmonary rehabilitation, smoking cessation support, vaccination against flu and pneumonia, and effective management of co-existing medical conditions. Additionally, the Minister should outline how her Department will promote greater public awareness of lung disease and improve COPD care in the UK.

How the debate unfolded

MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.

Opened the debate

Mike Amesbury Lab Weaver Vale

COPD impacts many constituents but lacks the clinical priority it should have, with 3 million people in the UK suffering from COPD and 2 million undiagnosed. The disease is primarily caused by smoking and other factors such as air pollution and workplace dust exposure. Early signs of COPD include shortness of breath and chronic cough, yet diagnosis often occurs only when the condition has significantly progressed. During the pandemic, diagnosis rates plummeted by 51%, resulting in nearly 50,000 people missing out on a diagnosis.

Other contributors (6)
  • Derek Twigg Lab Widnes and Halewood

    Mr Twigg highlighted the high rates of COPD in his constituency, noting a prevalence of 2.9% among GP registered patients compared to England's average of 1.9%. He cited a British Lung Foundation report revealing that thousands missed out on diagnosis due to unacceptable delays and a 51% reduction in diagnoses in 2020 compared to 2019, resulting in around 46,000 people missing out on diagnosis in England alone. Mr Twigg also emphasised the importance of community rapid response teams for early-stage treatment to prevent hospitalisation. I am listening carefully to what the Minister is saying, but one of the problems that I referred to briefly in my speech is that of being able to see a GP—not necessarily just for diagnosis, but when someone becomes ill. How can she square that circle in terms of what has been put in place if people cannot get to see a GP in person?

  • Jim Shannon DUP Strangford

    Mr. Jim Shannon highlighted the personal impact of COPD through his interactions with constituents and shared statistics from the British Lung Foundation, noting that an estimated 1.2 million people in the UK live with diagnosed COPD, with prevalence growing by 27% over the last decade. He called for more prevention efforts to address the issue and stressed the importance of earlier diagnosis and better treatment options such as lung rehabilitation and transplants. Shannon also mentioned the need for a national NHS action plan to improve rates of early diagnosis and reduce deaths from lung cancer. Does the Department of Health proactively contact smokers to follow through, rather than those smokers contacting the health service? What is the Government's policy on that?

  • Justin Madders Lab Ellesmere Port and Bromborough

    Madders highlighted the importance of public health measures, early diagnosis, treatment improvement, and research investment for COPD. He mentioned shocking statistics on air pollution's impact on pregnancy units and emphasized the need to address smoking cessation services due to funding cuts. Madders also discussed the prevalence of COPD in his constituency and its effects on A&E admissions.

  • Liz Twist Lab Blaydon and Consett

    In Blaydon, the figures for COPD are above average with 2.9% of people having a diagnosis compared to 1.9% nationally. Liz highlights that many people struggle due to undiagnosed COPD and inadequate care according to NICE guidelines. She emphasizes the importance of addressing diagnostic barriers and stigma, particularly in the context of post-pandemic recovery. I thank the Minister for recognising that a proportion of COPD cases are caused by work-related issues, which will affect the north and the north-east most of all because of their industrial heritage. I assume she will tell us what steps the Department will be taking to pursue that.

  • Patricia Gibson SNP North Ayrshire and Arran

    Paid tribute to the debate's purpose and highlighted the theme of World COPD Day. Mentioned that 3 million people in the UK have COPD, with about 2 million undiagnosed. Emphasized the Scottish Government's respiratory care action plan for Scotland and its implementation programme, which includes funding commitments from EU-funded projects like €7.7 million last year. Stressed the importance of tackling smoking rates, noting that 19% of adults in Scotland are smokers compared to 15% in the UK overall.

  • Ruth Jones Lab Newport West and Islwyn

    Ms Jones highlighted the link between air pollution and lung diseases, citing statistics such as over a quarter of a million babies born annually into heavily polluted areas. She mentioned that people in poorer communities are two and a half times more likely to develop COPD than those in affluent communities. Ms Jones also raised concerns about hospitals, GP surgeries, schools, and care homes located in polluted areas, emphasizing the need for leadership and action. I take the Minister's point about pulmonary rehabilitation being important but ask what she is thinking in terms of immediately putting into place the extra staff and resources required for pulmonary rehab.

Government Response

Gillian Keegan

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Nokes. The Government are dedicated to supporting those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In the last 10 years, various guidance and initiatives have been rolled out to support and improve this area, including the Department of Health outcomes strategy for COPD and asthma in 2011, a guide to performing quality-assured diagnostic spirometry in 2013, the national asthma and COPD audit programme launched in March 2018, and a best practice tariff for COPD. The NHS long-term plan aims to expand access to pulmonary rehabilitation by 2028, which will prevent up to 500,000 exacerbations and avoid up to 80,000 admissions. To increase access to face-to-face GP appointments, £250 million has been put in place as part of the recovery plans. The Government have made £1.5 billion available to assist local teams to increase their capacity for non-urgent treatment such as services for lung disease patients and announced £2.3 billion to increase diagnostic activity, including community diagnostic centres. Targeted lung health checks are running in areas with high rates of mortality from lung cancer, which will also pick up COPD conditions. In 2019, 85% of deaths due to COPD were attributable to smoking and 84% of hospital admissions for COPD were attributed to smoking in 2019-20. The Government are committed to reducing the harms caused by tobacco with a bold ambition for England to be smoke free by 2030, including NHS-funded tobacco treatment services to all inpatients, pregnant women and people accessing long-term mental health and learning disability services by 2024.

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