Dear Members,
The APPG on Respiratory Health’s report on its inquiry into respiratory deaths has been launched, which ARNS and the RCNS provided jointed evidence to. The year-long inquiry into respiratory deaths shows that the UK has the worst death rate amongst OECD countries for respiratory disease and points to a combination of factors contributing to respiratory deaths: a lack of awareness, poor standards of care and under-investment in clinical leadership, data and medical research. The report makes a number of recommendations on what needs to happen to enable respiratory conditions to stand on a par with the other ‘big killer’ diseases. You can read the report here.
Rebecca Sherrington, Chair, said “ARNS welcomes the recommendations, which includes our evidence, as it provides the opportunity to evaluate and focus on changes to health policy and clinical practice, which will ultimately improve patient care. We need to now ensure that the recommendations are acted upon and ARNS will ensure that we work with all organisations to influence respiratory care”.