BREATHE EASY WEEK 2009

That this House supports the British Lung Foundation's Love Your Lungs campaign for Breathe Easy Week 2009; praises the work of the Breathe Easy patient support network in providing help and information for people living with a lung condition and their carers; notes that less than a quarter of the estimated 3.7 million people in the UK with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have been diagnosed with the disease; calls on the Government to assess the benefits of incorporating spirometry testing into the new screening programme in order to ensure more people with a lung condition get an early diagnosis; recognises the importance of pulmonary rehabilitation for people with COPD, but observes that in many areas of the UK there is insufficient access to these courses and that they are not adequately funded; believes that more needs to be done to ensure that pulmonary rehabilitation is available to everyone who could benefit from it; eagerly awaits the publication of the clinical strategy for COPD; and urges the full implementation of the strategy in order to ensure an improved quality of life for all people with the disease.