Abstract
Introduction:
The UK National Health Service (NHS) is essentially publicly funded through general taxation. Challenges facing the NHS include the rise in prevalence of long-term conditions and financial pressures.
National policy trends:
Political devolution within the UK has led to variations in the way services are organised and delivered between the four nations.
Primary care respiratory services in the UK:
Primary care is the first point of contact with services. Most respiratory conditions are managed here, including prevention, diagnosis, treatment and palliative care.
Epidemiology:
Respiratory disease accounts for more primary care consultations than any other type of illness, with 24 million consultations annually.
Access to care:
Equitable access to care is an ongoing challenge: telehealthcare is being tried as a possible solution for monitoring of asthma and COPD.
Referral and access to specialist care:
Referrals for specialist advice are usually to a secondary care respiratory physician, though respiratory General Practitioners with a Special Interest (GPwSIs) are an option in some localities.
Conclusions:
Prevalence of asthma and COPD is high. Asthma services are predominantly nurse-led. Self-management strategies are widely promoted but poorly implemented. COPD is high on the policy agenda with a shift in focus to preventive lung health and long-term condition management.
Keywords: United Kingdom, respiratory disease, primary care, management, systems, policy, funding
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (537.2 KB).
Footnotes
AW, H P, M F, GH have no conflicts of interest to declare.
MLL is the Editor Emeritus of, AS is Joint Editor-in-Chief of, and HP is an Associate Editor of, the PCRJ. They were not involved in the editorial review of, nor the decision to publish, this article.