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The London Respiratory Team (LRT) commenced a programme of work in the summer of 2010 for NHS London and informed by the Consultation on a Strategy for Services for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in England that in July 2011, was finally published as: An outcomes strategy for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma in England.

COPD is a long term condition that is caused by smoking in most people. It causes breathlessness and cough and as the lung declines it affects people's general health and ability to go about their usual activity. It is a common problem in people who smoke but very often they don't know they have it and too many people are diagnosed too late.

Our aim is to improve the experience of Londoners with COPD and minimise the impact of the disease. We intend to do this by supporting clinicians, managers, commissioners and education providers who have a role in supporting people with COPD. Getting the right treatment early on in the course of the disease can help people to live well with the condition. COPD often affects groups of Londoners who are harder to reach and don't benefit or utilise the usual pathways of healthcare. A key feature of our work is to work across boundaries with other health and social care workers such as mental health and smoking cessation teams to understand how we can reach all Londoners.

We are predominantly a multidisciplinary team of clinicians who continue to work with people who have COPD. In addition we are supported by a carer representative and work closely with organisations that represent patients with lung disease.

At the outset we were mindful of the changing health and economic climate and have been working according to the Right Care model to produce guidance about what is right for patients and best value for the NHS. Each of our workstreams follows this model and our messages, standards and advisory products that we now share have these values embedded within them.