About the Respiratory Workforce

It is now more important than ever to ensure there are sufficient numbers of well-trained staff to provide respiratory services across the entire NHS. This will include the whole respiratory workforce, ensuring capacity exists for respiratory research, as well as continuing to provide acknowledged leadership in service development and delivery in a rapidly evolving NHS environment. We see our role very clearly in facilitating respiratory care delivery in a COVID-19 world.

The British Thoracic Society has published "A respiratory workforce for the future", a landmark report that looks at the vital importance of the multi-professional respiratory team, highlights the additional staffing required across all respiratory professions and calls for a number of changes in resourcing, training and commissioning that must be put in place to ensure the NHS has a sustainable respiratory workforce today and in the future.

“Optimal patient care is delivered by the right person at the right time in the right place. We must ensure that patients with lung disease are looked after by respiratory teams and a sustainable respiratory workforce now and in the future." Dr Paul Walker, BTS Chair​

Read the report here