Respiratory health: Follow guidelines to reduce repeat hospital visits, urge campaigners

The number of people making five or more emergency visits to hospital a year with lung difficulties has almost tripled in some parts of England, an analysis has found.

The charity Asthma + Lung UK said that better adherence to clinical guidelines and action to tackle the root causes of poor respiratory health were “long overdue,” as breathing problems were the leading cause of emergency admissions in England1 and the UK had the highest death rate in Europe from lung disease.2

Sarah Sleet, chief executive of Asthma + Lung UK, said, “It is unacceptable that people with lung conditions are being shunted between primary care and hospitals like this. We know the NHS can’t fix everything at once, but lung health cannot keep falling to the bottom of the pile, nor can we allow people’s postcodes or deprivation to determine their lung health outcomes.”

The charity’s analysis of NHS data3 found that in the past year the number of people needing emergency hospital care for respiratory problems at least five …