£2.61 million awarded to accelerate respiratory transformation across England

Nine health systems across England have been awarded funding totalling £2.61 million through the Pathway Transformation Fund (PTF) to deliver innovative projects between October 2025 and March 2026. The PTF is funded by NHS England, with Health Innovation Oxford and Thames Valley (HIOTV) supporting delivery, to drive system-wide transformation in asthma and COPD care.

Collaborative consortia of system partners were eligible to apply for up to £300,000 each. Every application was required to address both national priorities:

1. Early and accurate diagnosis – expanding access to quality-assured spirometry and restoring diagnostic pathways.
2. Risk stratification and optimisation – proactively identifying and supporting rising-risk COPD patients with integrated, equitable care.

A nationally coordinated evaluation will wrap around this work, providing a consistent evidence base, sharing learning and informing future investment.

Jonathan Fuld

We received 37 applications from NHS providers, Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), primary care, community and voluntary sector partners. Each site had support at executive and ICB level and also received direct input from regional respiratory clinical leads and network leads. The response was exceptional, making the process highly competitive.

Dr Jonathan Fuld (pictured), National Clinical Director for Respiratory Disease, NHS England, said: “Working closely with the Health Innovation Networks and localities across England provides an opportunity to improve the recognition of lung diseases and the health of people living with COPD this winter.

“The outstanding quality of the applications we received for the Pathway Transformation Fund highlights the excellent work already happening and gives real encouragement for the future of respiratory transformation across the country.

“The learning we gain will help pave the way for better outcomes across the country for those with respiratory conditions in years to come.”

We are delighted to recognise the nine successful lead applicants receiving funding, see map below. The full list of partners within each consortium is listed at the end of this page.

A national kick-off session for funded sites will take place in October 2025, followed by the launch of Communities of Practice in November, bringing together funded and non-funded sites to share learning and good practice. All sites will continue to be supported with resources, updates and opportunities to collaborate, with more activities to follow as the programme expands.

• Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board: Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust; My mhealth; Health Innovation South West; Cornwall Council; Voluntary Sector Forum; VCSE partners – Disability Cornwall, Age UK, The CHAOS Group, Volunteer Cornwall.
• Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust: NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board – Manchester Locality; Ardwick and Longsight Primary Care Network; North Manchester General Hospital; Hope Citadel Healthcare; Chorlton Park and Burnage Primary Care Network; Clayton, Beswick and Openshaw Primary Care Network; Gorton and Levenshulme Primary Care Network; Manchester Local Care Organisation; Health Innovation Manchester.
• Merton Health CIC Primary Care Collaborative: St Georges and St Heliers Hospital Group; Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust; NHS South West London Integrated Care Board; Health Innovation Network South London; Doccla; Primary Care Networks – East Merton, Morden, North Merton, North West Merton, West Merton, South West Merton; Age UK.
• Mid Yorkshire Hospital NHS Trust: Conexus; West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board.
• NHS Humber Health Partnership: Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board; University of Hull; Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust; The Ridings Medical Group; My mhealth.
• North West London Integrated Care Board: The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Trust; Doccla; Breathe Easy Group; HealthMatters; Imperial College Health Partners Health Innovation Network.
• Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust: Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board; Mid-Nottinghamshire Place-Based Partnership; Abbey Medical Group; Newark Primary Care Network; Mansfield North Primary Care Network; Nottinghamshire Healthcare Foundation Trust; Primary Integrated Community Services; A Better Life; Mansfield District Council; Newark and Sherwood District Council; Nottinghamshire County Council Public Health.
• University Hospitals of Liverpool Group: Central Liverpool Primary Care Network; NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board; Liverpool Place; NHS England North West Respiratory Clinical Delivery Network; Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital; Health Innovation North West Coast.
• University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust: NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board; University of Southampton; Oberoi Consulting; My mHealth; Southampton Central Primary Care Network; Community Diagnostic Centre Southampton City; Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust; Community Diagnostic Centre Portsmouth City; Integrated COPD Service Portsmouth City; Integrated COPD Service Southampton City; The Environment Centre; Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust; Health Innovation Wessex.