Health Minister Dr Zubir Ahmed today launched an ambitious new national coalition which will speed up diagnosis, improve treatment and transform the lives of thousands of people affected by asthma and lung disease.The Respiratory Transformation Partnership (RTP) brings together health innovation networks alongside NHS systems, four major industry partners (AstraZeneca, Chiesi, GSK and Sanofi), the Office for Life Sciences, NHS England, professional bodies and the third sector to address unmet need and make better use of innovative treatments and technology.
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Two new NHS England resources have been published, designed to support improved outcomes and more equitable access to high-quality care for people living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
The start of a new year is an ideal time to support people to consider small ways to begin working towards a healthy lifestyle. Grand gestures are unlikely to be sustainable long term but taking small steps towards a longer term goal can help to improve or maintain their lung health and encourage patients to take further steps along the road.Here are our top five primary care resolutions for 2026 to encourage and support patients to improve or protect their lung health.
World COPD Day, this year taking place on the 19th November, is an annual global initiative run by the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD). World COPD Day aims to raise awareness and present new knowledge and novel therapeutic strategies for COPD worldwide.
We are pleased to launch a new series of resources on health inequalities, which bring you everything you need to know about caring for people with respiratory disease who are impacted by health inequalities and severe mental illness.There are links between respiratory disease and mental health issues, and we know that mental illness increases smoking rates affecting the prevalence and impact of respiratory disease.
PCRS are proud to have supported NHS England London’s #AskAboutAsthma campaign over the years.#AskAboutAsthma is back this September for its ninth year, running from the 8th – 11th September, this year’s theme is One year on from the National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) report: Are we getting better at preventing asthma deaths?The #AskAboutAsthma campaign encourages children and young people, their families, and those involved in their care, to ensure four simple and effective measures to help them control their asthma.
People living in the most deprived communities across the country are set to benefit from new neighbourhood health services as the government takes the first steps in the rollout today (Wednesday 9th July), making care more convenient and reducing health inequalities.
Single-use vapes are now banned from the shelves of all shops (from Sunday 1 June) thanks to a government blitz on sale and supply.The new crackdown makes it illegal to sell single-use vapes at corner shops and supermarkets, putting an end to their alarming rise in school playgrounds and the avalanche of rubbish flooding the nation’s streets.The government's announcement of its intention to ban the use of disposable vapes has already had real effects – with retailers and consumers shifting away from environmentally destructive single-use options.
With the landmark Tobacco and Vapes Billentering its final stages in Parliament, and just days before World No Tobacco Day (31 May)and the nationwide ban on disposable vapes (1 June 2025), NEW polling[1] from Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) reveals overwhelming public support for a bold smokefree future – with voters urging the Government to go further and faster.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has put out a reminder for healthcare professionals and patients with asthma that overuse of blue inhalers (short-acting beta 2 agonists or SABAs), without use of a preventer inhaler, may lead to worsening symptoms or serious asthma attacks.These reminders follow updates to product information and the NICE - National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance for SABAs.The advice for healthcare professionals is:
The Primary Care Respiratory Society (PCRS) and Asthma + Lung UK call for urgent action to address the growing number of online pharmacies selling salbutamol inhalers without appropriate medical oversight. This practice not only undermines safe prescribing but also poses serious risks to public health.
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