Systems for the management of respiratory disease in primary care - an international series: United Kingdom

TY - JOUR

T1 - Systems for the management of respiratory disease in primary care - an international series: United Kingdom

AU - Worth, Allison

AU - Pinnock, Hilary

AU - Fletcher, Monica

AU - Hoskins, Gaylor

AU - Levy, Mark L.

AU - Sheikh, Aziz

N1 - dc.publisher: Primary Care Respiratory Society UK (PCRS-UK)

PY - 2011

Y1 - 2011

N2 - 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

AB - 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

KW - Respiratory diseases

KW - Primary care

KW - National Health Service

KW - United Kingdom

U2 - 10.4104/pcrj.2010.00070

DO - 10.4104/pcrj.2010.00070

M3 - Article

SN - 1471-4418

VL - 20

SP - 23

EP - 32

JO - Primary Care Respiratory Journal

JF - Primary Care Respiratory Journal

IS - 1

ER -