BASINGSTOKE MP's has thrown her support behind a scheme calling for better lung disease care.

Maria Miller is backing the new Taskforce for Lung Health which brought together 29 members from across the lung health sector including patients and healthcare professionals to develop a five-year plan for improving lung health in England.

The taskforce has recently published its five-year plan, setting out its recommendations for each area of the patient pathway – prevention, diagnosis, treatment and medicines, living with a lung disease, end-of-life care, and workforce.

Lung disease is one of the top three killers in the UK, with 115,000 people dying every year.

It is estimated that the NHS spends £9.9 billion each year on lung disease.

The MP said: “Unfortunately, we haven’t seen any improvements in the number of people dying from lung disease in over a decade and I welcome the Taskforce for Lung Health’s Plan.

“The taskforce’s report makes important recommendations to transform care and treatment for people with lung disease and I hope that the NHS and the government will give them very careful consideration.

“It is really encouraging that the NHS has already announced that its new long-term plan will include a respiratory programme as a clinical priority area.”