£10m partnership will use digital tools to improve respiratory care

A government partnership will use data and digital tools to improve 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 pharmaceutical companies AstraZeneca, Chiesi, GSK, and Sanofi in a co-funded programme worth more than £10 million.

Data and digital tools will be used to identify patients who would benefit from more targeted treatments, expand access to biologic medicines, and enable community and primary care teams to support patients closer to home.

Dr Zubir Ahmed, health 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 £10m 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 initiative is hoped to reduce the need for emergency admissions and ease pressure on hospitals, particularly during winter. 

Respiratory disease is the third leading cause of death in the UK and contributes to more than 700,000 hospital admissions and around six million inpatient bed days each year.

Professor Gary Ford, chief executive of Health Innovation Oxford and Thames Valley, said:  “Respiratory disease places an enormous burden on patients, families and the NHS, yet we know that earlier diagnosis and better long-term management can make a transformative difference.

“The RTP brings together the NHS, industry, innovators and patient groups to tackle these challenges collectively, using data, diagnostics and new technologies to redesign how care is delivered.”

The partnership is backed by clinical, academic and patient organisations, including Asthma + Lung UK, the Primary Care Respiratory Society, the British Thoracic Society, the National Respiratory Audit Programme, the Association of Respiratory Nurses, and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

Chair of the programme, Jonathan Fuld, national clinical director for respiratory disease for NHSE, said: “Around one in five people in England will be affected by respiratory illness in their lifetime and far too many are living with symptoms that are undiagnosed or poorly managed, often in communities that already face the greatest health challenges.

“The RTP can be a blueprint for how partnerships between the NHS, charities, professional bodies, and pharmaceutical companies can deliver better outcomes for people in every part of the country by improving rates of diagnosis, providing ongoing care and advice in local, neighbourhood services, and offering innovative treatments that can keep people out of hospital.”

Meanwhile in January, NICE published draft guidance recommending eight digital platforms to help people with asthma better manage their condition.