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 longterm condition management
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 23-32 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Primary Care Respiratory Journal |
Volume | 20 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2011 |
Keywords
- Respiratory diseases
- Primary care
- National Health Service
- United Kingdom