As the number of coronavirus cases rises in the UK PCRS is advising primary care teams to ensure that at-risk respiratory patients are aware of everything they can do to protect themselves.

A new QOF indicator, which requires a diagnosis of COPD to have results of spirometry consistent with airways obstruction, has been approved by NICE. PCRS has campaigned for this change in practice for many years.

PCRS is highlighting the need for NICE to review the introduction of point of care test C-reactive protein (CRP) - guided assessments for people presenting with COPD crises, following the emergence of new evidence.

On the 6 February, NHS England issued an update to the GP contract agreement 2020/21 to 2023–23/24. The update includes important improvements to the asthma and COPD domains.

New guidance from PCRS addresses the latest concerns about the safety of e-cigarettes and advises healthcare professionals how to support an estimated 3.2 million patients who use them to stop inhaling burned tobacco.

NICE has overturned a 2017 recommendation to quadruple the dose of inhaled corticosteroids for children when their asthma control deteriorates.

The PCRS Conference Report 2019 is now online.  It contains a summary of the key clinical, service development and plenary sessions of the three day event held in Telford in September 2019.

Tracey Lonergan PCRS Policy Coordinator, reports on the highlights from the PCRS Respiratory Conference 2019 Service Development Stream.

Presented by Darush Attar-Zadeh and Katherine Hickman, this session challenged delegates on their prescribing habits and attention to patient behaviours, and provided tangible tools and techniques for immediate adoption into practice to improve asthma outcomes.

Speaker Dr Chris Dyer, Consultant Geriatrician, Royal United Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Bath

A discussion led by Carol Stonham MBE, Executive Chair PCRS.

Speaker Kevin Gruffydd-Jones, GP, Box, Wiltshire

Speaker Dr Anna Spathis, Consultant in Pallative Care, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

PCRS support initiatives to improve air quality and minimise short- and long-term damage to the environment, particularly those with an impact on climate change resulting from greenhouse gases.