Mike Hedges AM welcomes announcement that a Plan has been launched to improve respiratory health in Wales

Mike Hedges AM welcomes announcement that a Plan has been launched to improve respiratory health in Wales

An updated plan to improve respiratory health in Wales has been launched today by the Health Secretary, Vaughan Gething.

Mike Hedges said…. ‘I greatly welcome this updated plan; I know many people from my Constituency who suffer from respiratory health problems; it is a very debilitating condition and any improvements that can be made to these people’s health really is life enhancing.

Dealing with issues such as smoking and childhood asthma will see really significant improvements in quality of life for these people. I welcome the Welsh Governments new initiatives to deal with these issues. I look forward following the progress of this new plan in the coming years’

It sets out the Welsh Government’s vision for respiratory services in Wales and identifies the actions the NHS in Wales will take in response. The plan will focus on delivering care that best impacts on patient experience and outcome and tackling variation in the quality of care.

The plan outlines work to improve smoking cessation services, better diagnose chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and reduce variation in prescribing. Health boards have all committed to:

·         appointing a flu jab champion

·         ensuring carbon monoxide monitoring and referral is routine smokers attending a respiratory outpatient appointment

·         offering patients and parents asthma action plans for better self care

·         improve access to exercise-based programmes for people with chronic respiratory conditions.

In 2015, around 15% of adults in Wales were being treated for a respiratory condition and respiratory diseases caused more than 16% of all deaths in Wales. Asthma UK estimates there are around 59,000 children with asthma in Wales, 9.5% of the total.