NORTHERN Ireland has the worst care for COPD patients in the UK, a new study has found.
A survey from Asthma UK and British Lung Foundation found only 13.5 per cent of COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) patients in the north are receiving basic care.
More than 43,000 people across Northern Ireland have the disease - a condition that makes it difficult to empty air out of the lungs because the airways have become narrowed.
COPD causes symptoms including breathlessness, wheezing and a long-lasting cough.
Flare-ups of the disease can be life-threatening.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has recommended COPD patients have basic care including access to pulmonary rehabilitation, help to stop smoking and flu and pneumonia vaccinations.
Ahead of World COPD today, Asthma UK and British Lung Foundation NI have called on all political parties to include a lung health strategy in their manifestos to enable better access to care for people with the disease.
Joseph Carter from the charity said: "This report clearly demonstrates that Northern Ireland is bottom of the class, despite the efforts of our hard working, over stretched health care professionals.
"We urgently need a new lung health strategy to ensure everyone with COPD has access to the five fundamentals of basic care."
