Paul Howell MP is calling for the Government to make lung health a priority.
Mr Howell, recently joined fellow MPs, in Parliament to celebrate the launch of Asthma + Lung UK, the new charity name of Asthma UK and the British Lung Foundation.
He said:
I was shocked to hear that the UK has some of the highest levels of respiratory deaths in Western Europe with one in five people having a lung condition and amazed at how little funding this charity receives to help with research.
I understand that during the height of the pandemic half of the population who were shielding also suffered with this. It is absolutely astounding.
The Government certainly needs to get a grip on this and make lung health a priority. I shall certainly be raising the issue in Parliament as a matter of urgency.
Asthma + Lung UK has called on the Government to make lung health a priority by restarting services and ensuring people have access to the treatment and support they need to keep well.
The charity says the state of lung health in the UK is ‘shameful’ with more deaths than anywhere else in Europe apart from Turkey and hospitalisations for lung conditions doubling in England and Wales in the last 20 years.
Lung disease is the third biggest killer in the UK but only 2% is spent on publicly funded research.
Sarah Woolnough, Chief Executive of Asthma + Lung UK said:
The state of lung health in the UK is shameful, with more than 100,000 people dying every year from lung conditions.
For far too long lung conditions have been treated like the poor relation compared with other major illnesses like cancer and heart disease. We need urgent action now.
