View the full provisional agenda here

This free workshop for respiratory leaders across primary, secondary, tertiary care and commissioning will focus on improvements in uncontrolled and severe asthma pathways and share learning from the two-year asthma biologics programme across England led by the Oxford Academic Health Science Network (Oxford AHSN) on behalf of the AHSN Network in partnership with the NHS Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC).

This is a valuable opportunity to hear from respiratory experts and pathway transformation pioneers from across England. You will be able to hear about their experience and gain ideas on how to develop your own local services. It will also provide a great networking platform to meet with clinical colleagues, Integrated Care Board and commissioning leads.

The main themes for day will include:

- building integrated care networks

- proactive early identification

- tackling health inequalities

- building workforce

- delegation of specialised commissioning for asthma care

Up to 200,000 people in the UK have uncontrolled or severe asthma, which has a huge impact on the lives of patients and their families, leading to frequent emergency hospital admissions. Asthma biologics work in a targeted way by disrupting pathways causing airways inflammation, helping to manage symptoms and reduce relapses for those with severe asthma. These therapies can transform patients’ lives by reducing long-term side effects of other treatments, such as steroids, and reduce the number of life-threatening asthma attacks.

From April 2021 to March 2023 AHSNs in England supported the adoption and spread of asthma biologics, under the AAC Rapid Uptake Products programme. More than 4,690 new patients have been initiated onto asthma biologics and around 3,000 fewer patients were prescribed 3g or more of oral steroid prednisolone each month.

Hosted by the Oxford AHSN, this workshop will be chaired by Dr Hitasha Rupani, clinical champion for the asthma biologics programme and consultant respiratory physician at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust.

Disclaimer/Sponsorship statement: With sincere thanks for sponsorship and continued support from GSK, AstraZeneca and SANOFI who have had no influence over the content of the meeting but have provided Sponsorship of meeting via promotional stands to cover room hire and food during the meeting