Lung disease must be made a national priority

10.02.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 30th Jun 2009

North Wales Assembly Member, Eleanor Burnham has given her support to the British Lung Foundation Wales' campaign to make lung disease a national priority.

At an event held at the Assembly, BLF Wales highlighted the fact that although one in five people in Wales live with a lung condition, patients still face a postcode lottery when it comes to healthcare services.

Eleanor Burnham said "Services such as pulmonary rehabilitation are only available in half of Wales . In north Wales the waiting list for pulmonary rehabilitation can be as long as 18 months and the distance many patients are asked to travel is unacceptable."

Pulmonary rehabilitation is a course, delivered with input from doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, dieticians and occupational therapists that helps people manage their lung condition with confidence.

Eleanor continued "Research has proven that successful pulmonary rehabilitation can reduce both the number of emergency hospital admissions and the overall number of days spent in hospital for people with respiratory problems. The benefits of providing an adequate service are significant both for those with lung disease and the NHS in Wales ."

Members of the Wrexham and Mold Breathe Easy groups attended the event and relished the opportunity to let Assembly Members know about the services they believe should be made available to all people with lung disease.

The British Lung Foundation Wales is calling for an urgent prioritisation of pulmonary rehabilitation services by the new LHBs, something Eleanor Burnham AM supports:

Head of the British Lung Foundation, Chris Mulholland, adds:

"Despite all the challenges of providing a health service fit for the 21st Century this simply isn't good enough. We welcome everyone's support in driving forward improvements."