This updated quality standard follows the release of the Professional Framework for Pulmonary Rehabilitation published by BTS earlier this year. The BTS Quality Standard provides healthcare professionals, commissioners and service users with standards of care to guide and measure progress against.
The document includes three fundamentals that all pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) services should have in place, plus a set of six quality statements to help improve and measure the quality of PR. The primary points in this quality standard are:
- Individuals with symptomatic chronic respiratory disease should be offered timely PR.
- Referrals should be enrolled within 30 days of discharge.
- Those eligible should receive a multi-system assessment.
- Referrals should have access to centre-based PR.
- Individuals who decline centre-based PR should be offered an alternative.
- Those completing PR should be supported in ongoing exercise maintenance.
Lead Author and Co-Chair Professor Sally Singh says;
"The updated standard reflects the evidence that has been accumulated since the original document in 2013. The standard will support the delivery of high-quality pulmonary rehabilitation for all individuals with chronic respiratory disease and is embedded in the National Respiratory Audit Programme (NRAP) and the national accreditation programme (PRSAS)."
Co-Chair Professor Will Man says;
"Pulmonary rehabilitation is one of the most effective interventions available for people with chronic respiratory disease, yet access and delivery remain variable. The new Quality Standard provides a framework to support high-quality, equitable pulmonary rehabilitation services and improve patient outcomes nationwide."
BTS Chair, Professor Richard Russell, says;
“Given that this Quality Standard sets out the three fundamentals that all PR services should have in place, alongside statements of high-quality care, this guidance will play an important role in improving access to pulmonary rehabilitation.”
These standards will inform the National Respiratory Audit Programme (Pulmonary Rehabilitation workstream) and, in turn, form the basis for the standards for the Pulmonary Rehabilitation Services Accreditation Scheme supported by the Royal College of Physicians.
Explore the Professional Framework for Pulmonary Rehabilitation
London, London WC1N 2PL
15/07/2026 15:43:00
British Thoracic Society
