NHS England figures show emergency hospital admissions for respiratory disease in the NHS North Central London Integrated Care Board area in 2023-24 were up 7% from the previous year reports Clara Margotin, Data Reporter

A silhouette of someone with their mouth open about to use an inhaler — Nationally, there were 854,922 A&E admissions for respiratory disease in 2023-24 – (Credit – Radar)

Emergency hospital admissions for respiratory disease increased in north central London, new figures show.

It comes as the number of admissions in England rose to its highest level since the Covid-19 pandemic.

A respiratory health charity said this number “should be going down, not up”, and called on the Government for more focus on respiratory care.

Respiratory diseases include asthma, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer, and are the third biggest cause of death in England.

They are often linked to smoking, air pollution and exposure to hazardous building materials such as asbestos.

NHS England figures show there were 12,825 emergency hospital admissions for respiratory disease in the NHS North Central London Integrated Care Board area in 2023-24 – up 7% from 11,990 the previous year.

It means there were 970 admissions per 100,000 people in the area, which is below the 1,428 per 100,000 rate across England, and the lowest rate in the country.

Nationally, there were 854,922 A&E admissions for respiratory disease in 2023-24 – up 8% from 790,241 the year before, and the highest figure since 2019-20 during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Emma Rubach, head of health advice at Asthma + Lung UK, said: “Emergency hospital admissions for respiratory disease should be going down, not up, and while the NHS can’t fix everything at once, lung health should not be kept at the bottom of the pile.”

She explained repeated hospital visits for those with lung conditions can be “very frightening and demoralising”, adding national guidelines for respiratory care and support “are not followed in a consistent or widespread manner”.

She said: “Breathing issues must be taken more seriously, and although government plans to create better neighbourhood health provision are welcome, they must include a stronger focus on improving respiratory care.

“Otherwise, these dehumanising and avoidable rebound hospital visits will continue to rise.”

The figures also show significant regional disparities in the admission rate: there were 1,974 emergency hospital admissions per 100,000 people in the North East and north Cumbria in 2023-24 for instance.

Dr Richard Russell, chair of the British Thoracic Society, warned respiratory disease is a “major” cause of hospital admissions.

He explained inequality and deprivation are driving the increasing number of admissions, adding poorer communities are most at risk of suffering from respiratory conditions.

He called for respiratory disease to be acknowledged as “one of the biggest problems facing this country” and for more resources to prevent admissions, improve treatment and increase research.

A DHSC spokesperson said the Government is investing £1.5 billion on new surgical hubs and AI scanners to improve diagnostic services, including for lung diseases, to prevent emergency admissions.

They added: “Through our Plan for Change to cut waiting lists, we have now exceeded our pledge to deliver an additional two million appointments, tests and operations, having delivered 3.6 million more since July 2024.

“We are taking firm action to tackle the harms of smoking, which is the leading risk factor of lung cancer. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is the biggest public health intervention in a generation and will put us on track towards a smoke-free UK.”

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