To ask the Minister of Health, pursuant to AQW 6065/17-22, whether he intends to gather data relating to the estimated number of people eligible for pulmonary rehabilitation.

Pulmonary rehabilitation is offered to people living with lung disease after a hospital admission and is provided by individual health and social care trusts in community, hospital and often online settings. It is not a mandatory treatment but it is part of standard after-care as recommended by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

It should be noted that not all people living with lung disease may benefit from or be able to undertake the programme. Additionally, due to lifestyle factors and personal inclination it is very much up to the individual as to decide whether they want to partake in the programme. The important issue is that the offer will be made and that the service has the capacity to manage all referrals. Pulmonary rehabilitation is an element of community respiratory services of which a review was conducted in 2017/18 and no issues of concern were reported during this process.

The admissions data that was supplied in 19/20 is helpful in giving a very rough estimate of how many people might be ‘eligible’ but the HSC does not record this exact data as standard. There are no current plans to review this position.

Further review of lung disease services will be subject to the demands and priorities of the respiratory work programme and will be regularly reviewed as part of the joint DoH SPPG/PHA approach going forward.