The NHS has joined forces with four major pharmaceutical companies in a new programme aimed at improving care for patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
The Respiratory Transformation Partnership (RTP) brings together NHS England, the Office for Life Sciences, 15 health innovation networks and AstraZeneca, Chiesi, GSK and Sanofi in a co-funded initiative worth more than £10 million.
Respiratory disease is the third leading cause of death in the UK, accounting for over 700,000 hospital admissions and around six million inpatient bed days each year, the majority of which are unplanned.
Roughly one in five people in England will be affected by a respiratory condition during their lifetime.
The programme will use data and digital tools to identify patients who could benefit from more targeted treatments, expand access to biologic medicines and enable community and primary care teams to support patients closer to home.
Organisers say the changes should reduce emergency admissions and ease pressure on hospitals, particularly over winter.
Dr Zubir Ahmed, Health Innovation and Safety Minister, said: “Too many people with asthma and lung disease end up rushed to hospital when, with the right care and support, that admission could have been avoided entirely. For far too long these patients have been let down because of a broken system.
“This government is bringing together the NHS, industry and local health innovation networks to make sure patients get the treatment they need, closer to home, before their condition reaches crisis point.
“This £10 million partnership is a concrete example of what our reform agenda looks like in practice – shifting care out of hospitals and into communities, using data to reach patients who have been missed, and working hand in hand with industry to get the best treatments to the people who need them most.”
The partnership is chaired by Dr Jonathan Fuld, National Clinical Director for Respiratory Disease at NHS England, and coordinated by Health Innovation Oxford and Thames Valley on behalf of the Health Innovation Network.
It has the backing of a range of clinical and patient organisations, including Asthma and Lung UK, the British Thoracic Society, the Primary Care Respiratory Society and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
Tom Keith-Roach, UK Country President, AstraZeneca, said: ”AstraZeneca is delighted to be joining the RTP to scale guideline-directed care across the NHS – bringing our scientific innovation and expertise in transforming care, to improve outcomes for people with asthma and COPD.
“By uniting the NHS, clinicians, patients, industry and system partners, the RTP will cut avoidable exacerbations and reduce the burden of respiratory disease on patients, the NHS and the economy, advancing the ambitions of the 10 Year Health Plan and the Life Sciences Sector Plan.”
