Search
Quality Improvement
BTS/NICE/SIGN Joint Guideline on Asthma: diagnosis, monitoring and chronic asthma management
BTS/NICE/SIGN Joint Guideline on Asthma: diagnosis, monitoring and chronic asthma management The British Thoracic Society (BTS), National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN), have produced a joint guideline on the diagnosis, monit...;
The Asthma 4: a new asthma attack care bundle
The BTS asthma attack care bundle, sets out four high impact actions ("The Asthma 4") that, when implemented, are most likely to improve outcomes for patients following an asthma attack. These are: Action 1: Medication Review Action 2: A Personalised Asthma Action Plan Action 3: Tobacco dependenc...;
Asthma
In the UK, over 8 million people, or approximately 12% of the population, have been diagnosed with asthma. Approximately 160,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with asthma each year. Currently, 5.4 million people are receiving asthma treatment. (NICE, May 2021) Our QI work on asthma includes car...;
NICE - Asthma Quality Standard
Advice for healthcare professionals treating patients with asthma
BTS Clinical Statement Occupational Asthma
A link to the corresponding publication and editorial in Thorax and be found here.;
JCVI advice on COVID-19 booster vaccination for adults in clinical ‘at risk’ groups and adults with asthma
BTS ILD Registry
The BTS Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) Registry holds national longitudinal data for two disease areas, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and sarcoidosis. As of February 2023 this was expanded to all fibrosing ILDs. The aim of the Registry is to provide a means of reviewing nationwide data to...;
NHS Steroid Emergency Card and National Patient Safety Alert
JCVI advice on COVID-19 vaccination for children aged 12-15 years in clinical ‘at risk’ groups
Primary Care information and guidance
NICE Guidelines
Clinical Audit
The BTS audit programme offers a broad range of national clinical audits covering both adult and paediatric respiratory disease. All reports from previous national audits are available to download. Log in/ register to use the BTS Audit website The audit periods for our national audits are set out...;
Action to take: New patient cohorts eligible for COVID-19 treatments NHS Letter
Education and Events
Introducing the BTS Asthma 4: a new asthma attack care bundle
Introducing the Asthma 4: a new asthma attack care bundle BTS launched its new asthma attack care bundle in January 2024, which sets out four high impact actions ("The Asthma 4") that, when implemented, are most likely to improve outcomes for patients following an asthma attack. This...;
BTS/NICE/SIGN - Joint Asthma Guideline Webinars
BTS hosted two webinars in March 2025 to support the dissemination of the BTS/NICE/SIGN Joint Guideline for the Diagnosis, Monitoring and Management of Chronic Asthma The first of these explored the aspects of the Guideline relevant to managing children and young people with chronic asthma and th...;
Other Respiratory Courses
If you wish to advertise your respiratory event here, please send the title, date, location, and a website address for enquirers to contact for further information, to bts@brit-thoracic.org.uk Please note that BTS will advertise events organised by relevant world-wide professional societies,...;
Workforce
Choosing your subspecialty
There are certain areas of respiratory medicine where “super” specialist training is required. This is because the diseases they treat are rare, complex or require a specific set of skills which cannot be easily achieved during general respiratory training. The curriculum calls for all respirator...;
Delivery of Care
National Respiratory Plans
England The Society welcomes the NHS England Long Term Plan, and particularly its respiratory focus. We are working closely with NHS England to support the delivery of the plan's respiratory objectives. We have produced a 4-point plan to help reduce respiratory pressures on the NHS in the Winter...;
Research and Innovation
Integrated Respiratory Research collaborative (INSPIRE)
INSPIRE, the Integrated Respiratory Research collaborative, is the UK’s research network for early career doctors and allied health professionals in respiratory medicine.INSPIRE aims to facilitate a collaborative approach to performing clinical research projects and high-quality audits at regiona...;
Other
Higher levels of financial inequality linked to increase in asthma deaths
BTS/SIGN British Guideline on the management of asthma 2019
New joint guideline recommends healthcare professionals prescribe combination treatments rather than ‘reliever’ medications alone for people with newly diagnosed asthma
BTS announces “The Asthma 4” in Asthma Attack Bundle published today
NICE/BTS/SIGN joint Asthma Guideline update: Public consultation on scope and committee members recruitment
BTS marks World Asthma Day for 2024
BTS publishes new Clinical Statement on Occupational Asthma
BTS welcomes the launch of Asthma + Lung UK
Asthma Advisory Group
BTS, SIGN and NICE to produce Joint Guideline on chronic asthma
NICE BTS SIGN Joint Guideline for the Diagnosis, Monitoring and Management of Chronic Asthma
Consultation launched for the BTS/SIGN/NICE Draft Guideline on the Diagnosis, Monitoring and Management of Chronic Asthma
Update on the BTS/SIGN/NICE Joint Guideline for the Diagnosis, Monitoring and Management of Chronic Asthma
Introducing the new British Thoracic Society, Asthma + Lung UK and British Association of Lung Research Lecture Awards
Winners of the BTS/BALR/A+LUK Lecture awards 2024
Novel coronavirus: Covid-19 - Guidance from the UK's public health bodies
Environment and lung health
Improving air quality, and the need to address climate change, are key priorities for the Society Poor air quality is widely known to have negative effects on lung health, affecting people with existing lung disease and affecting lung function in children, predisposing them to chronic lung proble...;
Welcoming the incoming Committee Chairs for 2024
British Thoracic Society celebrates the Lecture Award winners for 2023
BTS Medal 2020
BTS celebrates the winners of the BTS/BALR/A+LUK Lecture awards
Council
The Society's Council has a significant role. It acts as a sounding board and advisory body in respect of Society policies and provides Trustees with access to general membership opinion. Bi-annual meetings of Council are timed to take place in the mornings before Trustees meet, so that rel...;
International Respiratory Coalition
The Coalition, led by the European Respiratory Society (ERS), brings together healthcare professionals, patients and industry partners across Europe. The IRC is calling on policymakers in WHO European region countries to create national strategies to transform post-pandemic respiratory care...;
BTS/ A+LUK/ BALR Lecture awards
We are delighted to again be partnering with Asthma & Lung UK (A+LUK) and the British Association for Lung Research (BALR) in order to recognise the achievements of established respiratory researchers. These awards will be given at this year’s Winter Meeting where winners will have the...;
Well done to the 2024 Early Career Investigator Award Winners
BTS Medal and Awards
BTS Medal The BTS Medal is awarded annually to a distinguished person who has greatly contributed to respiratory medicine or science. This prestigious award aims to acknowledge the recipient's leadership in and contribution to clinical and/or scientific work which has resulted in benefit to patie...;