After completing this module, you should be more aware of:

·       The reasons why respiratory conditions are highlighted in the NHS Long Term Plan

·       Prevalence of respiratory conditions in the UK

·       The burden on healthcare services from respiratory disease

·       Proposals for increasing detection of COPD and improving asthma management

·       Why pneumonia is such a significant disease

·       Diagnosis of pneumonia and who is at risk

·       Causes and key pathogens in pneumonia

·       NICE recommendations on treatment

·       Changes in the NICE guidelines on antibiotic prescribing in community-acquired pneumonia

·       Recovery and prevention, including pneumococcal vaccination.

One in five people is affected by a respiratory disease each year, which is why it is a priority clinical area in the NHS Long Term Plan.1

Announced in January 2019, one of the Plan’s aims for the next five years is to “ramp up support for people to manage their own health,” and that includes asthma and respiratory conditions.

Social deprivation and health inequalities are also core concerns. Respiratory conditions contribute around a tenth (0.92 years) of the 9.4 years life expectancy inequality gap between the most and least deprived deciles among men.

Pneumonia is up to 45% more common in the most deprived quintile of society than the least deprived. People with a long-term mental health problem are also at “substantially higher risk” of chronic obstructive airways diseases, among others.

While there is a recognition that society cannot treat its way out of inequalities, the NHS wants to ensure that action to drive down health inequalities is central to everything it does. As part of this, the NHS has pledged to do more to detect and diagnose respiratory problems earlier.