In this Chair's Perspective from the Spring 2017 edition of Primary Care Respiratory Update, Dr Noel Baxter discusses the importance of early and accurate diagnosis for respiratory conditions.

In this article from PCRU Spring 2017 Fran Robinson interviews Barbara Preston, a member of the PCRS Lay Reference Group, who had bronchiectasis as a child but was not diagnosed until she was an adult, the article illustrates how this delay to diagnosis impacts

Endorsed by PCRS-UK, the guideline offers recommendations on symptom recognition, management and follow-up of the disease that are relevant for primary care clinicians.

PCRS has published a consensus statement on key aspects of the diagnosis, management and monitoring of asthma to provide clarity for primary care clinicians faced with conflicting national guidelines1

Asthma UK is inviting applications for its 2018 Project Grants which will support research focused on developing tools for quick, accurate, scalable and low-cost diagnostics in asthma.

An in-depth look at the many components of supported self-management in the Winter issue of Primary Care Respiratory Update could make you think differently about the time you spend with people who have long term conditions.

NHS England has launched the NHS Smokefree Pledge, an update to the NHS Statement of Support for Tobacco Control.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently recruiting a member for the NICE committee to develop antimicrobial prescribing guidelines. They are looking for individuals with expertise as a general practitioner to apply.

NHS RightCare, an NHS England supported programme committed to delivering the best care to patients as efficiently as possible, has published a pathway for COPD.

The driving regulations for patients with sleep apnoea have been modified by the DVLA.

The British Thoracic Society (BTS) has published an article on the BMJ/Thorax blog which gives an overview of the key differences between the BTS/SIGN and NICE guidelines on the diagnosis and management of asthma.

The report reveals that:

It also reveals that the many cost-effective and high value ways to help treat and manage COPD, including providing flu jabs, supporting patients to live smoke free, and physical activity and supported self-management programmes, are under used.

Primary Care Respiratory Update produces a regular feature article where we explore how healthcare professionals can support self-management in a range of conditions.  These include:-  

In these two articles from the December 2017 issue of Primary Care Respiratory Update, Dr Andrew Whittamore (Asthma UK) and Mr Mike McKevitt (British Lung Foundation) discuss tools and services available to support self-management in long term respiratory conditions.