The British Lung Foundation Scotland has welcomed the report published today by Audit Scotland which highlights the enormous variances in care depending on which Health Board area you live in. The report recommends that better targeting of resources, further developing community-based services and driving a national strategy would improve care for people with long-term conditions.
The report, ‘Managing long-term conditions’, used COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) as a tracker condition to examine services for adults with long-term conditions.
Despite evidence that community based COPD services can reduce hospital admission rates, Audit Scotland found that these services are not widespread and even within a Health Board area, may not be available to everyone.
Andrew Powrie-Smith, Head of British Lung Foundation Scotland, said: “This report highlights the urgent need to improve services for people living with COPD in Scotland. About 95,000 Scots are affected by this serious lung condition which leaves them constantly fighting for breath.
“The Audit Scotland report identifies huge variation in COPD services across the country resulting in a postcode lottery of care. Why is it that a COPD patient in the Borders is likely to spend almost twice as long in hospital as someone in Tayside. People with COPD should receive high quality care regardless of where they live.
“We are calling on the Scottish Executive to take positive action and develop national clinical standards for COPD which will drive up the quality of care across the whole country and help improve the lives of thousands of people affected by COPD.”
