Bristol BRC theme co-lead to play part in national Respiratory Transformation Partnership

  • 26 March 2026

We are very proud to announce that Professor James Dodd, workstream co-lead for our respiratory disease theme and North Bristol NHS Trust Respiratory Consultant, has taken up the role of national clinical lead within the recently launched Respiratory Transformation Partnership (RTP). 

The RTP is a national initiative aimed at improving asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) care by bringing policy, commissioning, innovation and frontline adoption into one programme. It is a joint venture between the Health Innovation Network, (with Health Innovation Oxford and Thames Valley leading on behalf of the network), NHS England, the Office for Life Sciences and partners from industry 

Respiratory disease is the third leading cause of death in the UK. It affects around 1 in 6 people in their lifetime, drives about 8% of hospital admissions and 10% of inpatient bed days, and disproportionately harms more deprived communities—areas RTP is explicitly set up to target. 

James will be 1 of 4 national clinical leads and his focus will be on COPD systems and biologics readiness. Biologics are high-cost medicines designed to target specific parts of the immune system to treat chronic diseases. 

The team working with James will focus on: 

  • Preparing integrated care boards (ICBs) and COPD pathways to enable equitable access to future COPD biologics 
  • Aligning commissioning pathways, workforce education and data infrastructure across ICBs 
  • Supporting local ICB commissioning readiness and service transformation 

Professor James Dodd, said: 

“I’m excited to contribute to the Respiratory Transformation Partnership and help ensure the NHS is ready for advanced therapies in COPD. 

“My experience establishing Bristol’s complex airways service, reshaping pathways for access to asthma biologics and COPD therapies while working with wonderful colleagues in our local multidisciplinary team and the Bristol BRC airways research group has shown what coordinated, multidisciplinary teams can achieve. 

“This workstream will focus on supporting services to identify the right patients, build robust pathways and strengthen workforce capability, so that new treatments can be delivered safely, fairly and consistently across the NHS”