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.

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.

In this article published in the December 2017 issue of Primary Care Respiratory Update, Professors' Hilary Pinnock and Stephanie Taylor discuss the evidence for self-management and provide answers to the most common questions arising about what it is and how we as healthcare professionals can su

In this article from the December 2017 issue of Primary Care Respiratory Update, Alex Woodward discusses the development of a business case for, and implementation of, an integrated cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation service; and outlines the outcomes and learning points.

Recommendations for primary care include:

Special Features Guest Editor’s Round-Up Carol Stonham Chair’s Perspective Noel Baxter Supported self-management for respiratory conditions in primary care Stephani

This briefing was prepared initially for the benefit of our members, who are healthcare professionals working primarily in primary and community care with an interest in respiratory disease.

NICE has today published a single new guideline on the diagnosis and monitoring of asthma, and management of chronic asthma. 

Today is World COPD Day, an annual campaign organised by the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease GOLD), to improve awareness and care of patients with COPD around the world.