ICS Respiratory Review 2024/25

Asthma + Lung UK is fighting for everyone's right to breathe.

This requires a better understanding of regional outcomes and approaches to respiratory care. The map below ranking the Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) by respiratory hospital admissions and deaths illustrates a stark North-South divide of respiratory outcomes in England, but it’s just one part of the picture.  

A+LUK’s ICS Respiratory Review shows key metrics from publicly available data for all Integrated Care Systems. This data is combined with information received from a survey we sent out in October 2024 to all 42 ICSs in England. 32 ICSs responded to tell us about how they are diagnosing, treating and supporting those living with a lung condition. 

The ICS Respiratory Review provides a snapshot of respiratory services across England while shining a light on innovative work taking place across the country. We would like to thank all ICSs who participated in the survey. Data was collected between September and December 2024, and published in February 2025.

You can choose how you filter and display the data by selecting a header or a group of ICSs (by NHS region), and images and data can be downloaded.

Survey data provided by Integrated Care Systems is self-reported and unvalidated. 

Results at ICS level for respiratory care

Key outcomes

Our key outcomes data shows ICSs ranked using respiratory admission rates and respiratory death rates, as well as other performance indicators for respiratory care.

Governance + prioritisation

Without appropriate governance and prioritisation within ICSs, best practice respiratory care is not delivered, and those living with lung conditions face inequitable outcomes. 

Care provision

Delivering good, year-round basic care in the community is vital to keeping patients well and out of hospital, particularly in the winter months.

Spirometry

1.7 million people are living with COPD, and around 600,000 are living undiagnosed across the UK. This is due to huge backlogs and geographical inequalities to accessing spirometry – a basic diagnostic test.

Children + young people

Health inequalities impact children and young people’s outcomes: the asthma death rate is higher for children living in urban areas than rural areas and is four times higher for children living in the most deprived neighbourhoods of England compared to the least deprived. 

Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR)

Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) benefits people with COPD and other lung conditions by improving mobility and reducing fatigue when carrying out day-to-day activities.

Successes

We asked Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) to share which programme of work has had the most positive impact on respiratory care or outcomes locally over the last year.

Challenges

It is important for ICSs to recognise the barriers they are facing to be able to provide good quality respiratory care, so that these can be tackled at both a national and local level.

Additional resources

About the ICS Respiratory Review survey, next steps and more ICS-level data.