Scotland’s Largest Health Charity Urges Scottish Government Not to Abandon Respiratory Care Action Plan 23 April 2025 Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland is calling for the Scottish Government to commit to funding and implementing pulmonary rehab programmes before the end of this parliament CHSS’ 1 in 5 Chest report research found 25% of people living with a long-term chest condition say they were not referred for rehab* 52% said that they needed support but were not able to access it* Number of people living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is expected to rise by 63% by 2044 to 219,000 according to Scottish Burden of Disease Study** Leading Scottish health charity Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland has called on the Scottish Government to take urgent and decisive action over respiratory health. Since Scottish Government’s Respiratory Care Action Plan (RCAP) was published in 2021, setting out their vision for prevention, treatment and support of people living with respiratory conditions, there has been minimal progress on the key aims of the plan. In particular, there has been minimal progress to increase access to pulmonary rehab, an exercise and education programme for people living with a long-term chest condition. The plan comes to an end in 2026, and there is no clear structure in place for the implementation, evaluation or reporting on its impact. There is also no specific information on what would come after the plan’s lifespan, to serve people living with respiratory conditions. Respiratory conditions are the 5th largest cause of death in Scotland, with COPD leading to three times more deaths than breast cancer every year***. Numbers of people living with the condition are set to grow, with predictions showing a 63% rise in the number of cases from 134,300 in 2019, to 219,000 in 2044 due to an aging population and smokers within that demographic****. Chief Executive of Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland, Jane-Claire Judson said: “It’s hard not to feel that the Scottish Government has abandoned work to support people living with respiratory conditions. Work to improve the lives of people with conditions like Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) has been slowly decreasing in recent years but even this limited support appears to be coming to a halt entirely. “Not only will this be devastating to the people in Scotland living with respiratory conditions, it’s also incredibly short-sighted. COPD is the fifth largest cause of death in Scotland, with three times as many deaths as breast cancer every year. Respiratory conditions are among the biggest causes of hospital admissions, and tackling this challenge falls directly in the remit of supported self management – empowering people to take control of their health and wellbeing, while potentially easing pressure on already stretched NHS services. “Pulmonary rehab is an excellent way at reducing hospital admissions, keeping people out of hospital and can help save resources and money for the NHS which is under a constant strain. But the Scottish Government ‘s commitment to increasing access to pulmonary rehabilitation since 2021 seems to have been kicked into the long grass. “People with respiratory conditions cannot afford for these plans to stall any longer. These conditions lead to preventable admissions to hospitals and preventable deaths, and we must take action. To ignore this would worsen health inequalities and neglect those most affected by one of Scotland’s largest killers. “It is essential that the Scottish Government commit to funding and implementing specialist, general and community rehab programmes for those with respiratory conditions before the end of this parliament. “They should work with third sector services, including Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland to achieve this by using our expertise in these areas.” Article sources * www.chss.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/E0103-Coms-NLHL-COPD-Report-v4-2.pdf ** www.scotpho.org.uk/media/2632/2025-03-18-scottishburdenofdisease-copd.pdf *** www.nrscotland.gov.uk/publications/vital-events-reference-tables-2023/ **** www.scotpho.org.uk/media/2632/2025-03-18-scottishburdenofdisease-copd.pdf