The Taskforce for Lung Heath is an exciting collaboration of the largest ever group of organisations and individuals who have come together to improve lung health. ARNS is proud to be one of the 29 member groups, which include health care professionals, the voluntary sector and professional associations.
One in five people in the UK have been diagnosed with a Lung Disease. Yet over the past ten years there has been no improvement in the amount of people dying from lung disease unlike other diseases such as cancer and heart disease
Nurses, including specialist nurses lead and co-ordinate treatment and care for patients with lung disease. We know approx. half of respiratory nurse specialists could retire by 2026.(1) (2)
Recommendation 6e of the Taskforce for Lung Health report launched today calls for NHSE and the government to focus on recruitment and retention of nurses, including reviewing the funding mechanisms for training and continuing professional development programmes’
At Report’s Parliamentary Launch on 4th November, Wendy Preston, Chair of ARNS said
“It is important that we share our patients’ stories and the experience we have from clinical practice. What we will then show is that there is a big variation in clinical practice, and a big variation in services that are available. And when we put that evidence forward then we can start informing decision-makers”
Read more about the Taskforce for Lung Health here
(1) Yorke J, Prigmore S, Hodson M, et al. Evaluation of the current landscape ofrespiratory nurse specialists in the UK: planning for the future needs of patients.
(2)BMJ Open Respiratory Research 2017;4:e000210. doi: 10.1136/bmjresp‐2017‐000210
