Respiratory disease threat hidden by political targets - Burstow

Commenting on the Royal College of Physicians and the British Thoracic Society report into respiratory disease, Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary, Paul Burstow MP, said:

"This report demonstrates the shocking lack of priority for a condition which is the fifth most common cause of death in England and Wales.

"This hidden disease has a low profile in the NHS because of so many political targets in other areas. But for those who suffer from respiratory disease it destroys their quality of life.

"The development of rehabilitation services can give sufferers a chance of a more active life. Sadly in an NHS so dominated by political targets and Ministerial diktat, lung diseases come low down the pecking order for investment.

"Primary care trusts should be free to deliver local solutions to meet local needs. Frontline staff should have more freedom to get on with the job of treating patients".