PIP for Bronchiectasis 2026: Daily Physio, Infections and How to Claim

Can you get PIP for bronchiectasis? Yes. Bronchiectasis is assessed on how it affects your day to day life, not on the diagnosis - and the part both sides of the desk underrate is the sheer daily workload of keeping your lungs clear. Established bronchiectasis means chest physiotherapy most days, nebulised saline and antibiotics, a cough that never really stops, breathlessness on the stairs, deep fatigue, and chest infections that flatten you for weeks at a time. Those map most strongly onto Activity 3 (managing therapy) and Activity 12 (moving around), with Activity 1 (preparing food), Activity 4 (washing and bathing) and Activity 9 (engaging with people) commonly affected too.

This guide shows the descriptor route for each - and starts with the scorer almost nobody adds up properly: the hours of another person's help your airway clearance needs every week.

What Bronchiectasis Is - and Why It Is a Daily Job

Bronchiectasis is permanent damage that leaves the airways abnormally widened and scarred, so they no longer clear mucus the way healthy lungs do. The mucus pools, gets infected, the infection causes more damage, and the cycle repeats - which is why the condition is chronic and progressive rather than something that resolves. The day-to-day reality is a constant productive cough bringing up cupfuls of thick, discoloured sputum, breathlessness that worsens with exertion, recurrent chest infections, and a fatigue driven by the round-the-clock effort of coughing, breathing harder than normal and fighting infection. Some people also cough up blood (haemoptysis), which is frightening and can mean an urgent hospital trip. It often sits alongside COPD, asthma and other lung disease, and a small group have it as part of cystic fibrosis. The cornerstone of treatment is not a tablet - it is daily airway clearance, taught by a respiratory physiotherapist and done at home, every single day, for the rest of your life. The DWP scores none of these labels - it scores what the regime, the breathlessness and the infections stop you doing. And honestly: mild bronchiectasis that is well controlled with little daily treatment may not score; established disease with a real physio regime, frequent infections and exertional breathlessness, on the majority of days, is a different picture.

The Distinctive Scorer: Count Your Airway-Clearance Hours

This is the part that surprises assessors, because most respiratory claims they see are built on breathlessness alone. Bronchiectasis comes with a treatment regime that runs every day, but PIP's Activity 3 does not score the time it takes you: descriptors 3c to 3f score the weekly hours another person spends supervising, prompting or assisting therapy done at home, and since 2017 medication does not count as therapy at all. Sort the pieces honestly:

• Airway clearance physiotherapy: the active cycle of breathing technique, postural (gravity-assisted) drainage, or an oscillating PEP device such as the Acapella or flutter. Sessions usually run 10 to 30 minutes, once or twice a day, and longer when you are producing more sputum. This is prescribed home therapy, so the time someone supervises or assists it is what descriptors 3c to 3f count; sessions you manage alone score nothing here.
• Nebulised saline before clearance to loosen the mucus. The DWP guide treats a nebuliser used to deliver saline that aids chest physiotherapy as therapy, so help with it can count towards the same hours; a nebulised mucolytic is a drug, so help with it is medication under descriptor 3b for 1 point.
• Nebulised antibiotics (such as colomycin or gentamicin) after clearance, and/or long-term oral antibiotics like azithromycin three times a week if you have frequent flare-ups. These are medication, not therapy: needing an aid or another person's help to manage them is descriptor 3b for 1 point however long they take.
• Rescue antibiotic courses for exacerbations, and the intravenous (IV) antibiotic courses - in hospital or at home - that the worst flare-ups need, typically running around two weeks each. These are medication too, so help with a home IV line scores under 3b rather than adding to the therapy hours.

Counted across a week, the helped part of the routine is rarely minutes. Where a partner supervises or assists your clearance, doing the postural-drainage positions or percussion you cannot manage alone, those hours climb the ladder from 3c to 3f. Setting up the nebuliser for a drug or managing a home IV line is help with medication, worth 1 point under 3b. See Activity 3 in detail.

Which PIP Activities Does Bronchiectasis Affect?

Activity 3: Managing Therapy - the Standout Anchor

Work out a realistic week of helped therapy. Twice-daily airway clearance at 20 minutes with your partner supervising or assisting is already over four and a half hours, which is descriptor d for 4 points; the same sessions done alone score nothing here, however long they take. The descriptors count the hours of help another person gives with therapy, not the time the therapy takes you - doing the percussion and postural-drainage positions you cannot manage alone, or supervising clearance when you are coughing up blood. Setting up the nebuliser for antibiotics, sorting the inhalers and oral medicines or running the IV pump during a flare-up is help with medication, which is descriptor b for 1 point and does not add to the hours. Spell every element out with its frequency, minutes and who helps: "I do my physio and take my medication" scores nothing, the full timed inventory scores points.

Activity 12: Moving Around - Breathlessness on Exertion

Activity 12 measures how far you can stand and then move repeatedly, to an acceptable standard and in a reasonable time, before breathlessness, fatigue or pain forces you to stop. With moderate to severe bronchiectasis a gentle slope, a flight of stairs or a supermarket car park can be enough to stop you gasping, with a recovery pause before you can carry on. Under regulation 4(2A) you must be able to repeat the distance reliably - managing it once, hauling for breath, does not count if you cannot do it again a few minutes later. If you have to stop within 20 to 50 metres on a normal day, descriptors c and d reach 8 to 10 points, and stopping within 20 metres scores 12 - enhanced mobility on its own. Measure a real walk, note exactly where you stop and how long you need to get your breath back, and put those numbers on the form. See Activity 12 in detail.

Activities 1, 4 and 9: Cooking, Washing and People

• Preparing food (Activity 1): standing at a hob, bending into a low cupboard and working over a steaming pan all leave you breathless and coughing, and the fatigue saps the energy to cook from scratch. Needing to sit, take breaks, use a perching stool or rely on someone else on most days pushes into aid, supervision and assistance territory worth 2 to 4 points. See Activity 1 in detail.
• Washing and bathing (Activity 4): a hot shower fills the room with steam that triggers coughing, raising your arms to wash your hair leaves you short of breath, and stepping over the side of a bath can be a real effort. Needing an aid such as a shower seat or grab rail, or help to wash and bathe, scores 2 points and upward. See Activity 4 in detail.
• Engaging with people (Activity 9): a constant wet cough is tiring and embarrassing in company, breathlessness cuts conversations short, and the fatigue empties the diary - the same prompting and withdrawal pattern that carries chronic fatigue claims. Needing prompting or support to engage on most days scores 2 to 4 points.

Flare-Ups Count, and So Does the Recovery

Bronchiectasis is not a flat line. Exacerbations - flare-ups where the cough worsens, the sputum increases and changes colour, the breathlessness climbs and you may run a fever or cough up blood - arrive several times a year for many people. Around half of those on the European bronchiectasis registry have two or more a year, and a third are admitted to hospital at least once a year. A flare needs a rescue antibiotic course, sometimes two weeks of IV antibiotics, and the recovery drags on for weeks afterwards while you rebuild from a low base. PIP is assessed across the whole year and on the majority of days, so do not describe only your steadiest week. Average a real year: the daily baseline regime plus the repeated weeks where infection floors you. Write the cascade explicitly - the flare itself, then what the wiped-out recovery state stops you doing, activity by activity - rather than mentioning "I get chest infections" once and hoping the assessor fills in the rest.

Describe the Regime and the Day, Not the Diagnosis

The strong version times the regime, names the helper, measures the walk, evidences the flare-ups, and touches Activities 3, 12, 4 and 1 in one honest paragraph - no jargon, just the real day.

Evidence That Wins Bronchiectasis Claims

• Respiratory clinic letters and your CT scan report confirming the diagnosis, the extent of the disease and its severity
• Your physiotherapy plan: how many airway-clearance sessions a day, and which technique or device (active cycle of breathing, postural drainage, Acapella or flutter)
• Your full prescription and nebuliser list: saline, mucolytics, colomycin or gentamicin, azithromycin, inhalers, and any home oxygen
• A record of exacerbations over the last year - rescue antibiotic courses, hospital admissions and home or inpatient IV courses - which proves how often the condition floors you
• Lung function (spirometry) results and any exercise or walk-test findings showing how far you get before desaturating or stopping
• A symptom diary: daily sputum volume and colour, any haemoptysis, breathlessness on which tasks, fatigue, and timed walks
• A statement from someone who helps you: the nebuliser set-up, the postural drainage, the IV management, the meals and washing they take over

Conditions That Commonly Travel With Bronchiectasis

• COPD. Often overlaps with bronchiectasis; the breathlessness and inhaler load stack with the daily clearance. See PIP for COPD.
• Asthma. Frequently coexists and worsens flare-ups. See PIP for asthma.
• Pulmonary fibrosis. Another scarring lung disease that compounds breathlessness and fatigue. See PIP for pulmonary fibrosis.
• Cystic fibrosis. Bronchiectasis is part of CF, which brings its own heavy daily regime. See PIP for cystic fibrosis.

List every condition on the form - PIP scores the combined picture, and a respiratory claim is usually carried by the whole load together rather than any single diagnosis.

If You Are Refused

Conditions whose burden is invisible at a desk are refused more often than they should be. Do not give up.

1. Mandatory Reconsideration (within one month of the decision letter). Ask for the assessment report, then dispute each activity with your timed physio regime, exacerbation record and measured walking distance, quoting regulation 4(2A). See our full Mandatory Reconsideration guide.
2. First-tier Tribunal (within one month of the MR result). Around two in three PIP appeals that reach a hearing are decided in the claimant's favour (HM Courts and Tribunals Service tribunal statistics, January to March 2026), and having a representative improves your chances. A tribunal reading a physio plan and an IV-antibiotic history alongside a CT report takes bronchiectasis seriously.

2026 Rates and Changes

• PIP rates (2026/27): daily living standard £76.70/week, enhanced £114.60; mobility standard £30.30, enhanced £80.00. Both enhanced rates are around £10,119 a year. See PIP rates 2026.
• The 4-point rule was scrapped in July 2025 - and it only ever applied to the daily living component, never to mobility, so the breathlessness route through Activity 12 was always unaffected.
• The Timms Review reports in autumn 2026 and may shape future assessment criteria. See our PIP changes 2026 guide and should I claim PIP now?.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you get PIP for bronchiectasis?

Yes. Bronchiectasis is assessed on how it affects you day to day, not on the diagnosis. Established disease means a daily airway-clearance routine - chest physiotherapy with the active cycle of breathing, postural drainage or an Acapella, plus nebulised saline, mucolytics and often nebulised or long-term antibiotics - alongside breathlessness on exertion, a constant productive cough, deep fatigue, repeated chest infections and sometimes coughing up blood. Those map most strongly onto managing therapy (Activity 3) and moving around (Activity 12), with preparing food (Activity 1), washing (Activity 4) and engaging with people (Activity 9) often affected too. Mild bronchiectasis that is well controlled may not score.

How much PIP can you get for bronchiectasis?

It depends on your scores. PIP has a daily living part (standard £76.70/week, enhanced £114.60) and a mobility part (standard £30.30, enhanced £80.00) for 2026/27. Bronchiectasis claims often score on managing therapy (Activity 3) because the daily airway clearance often needs another person's help for real weekly hours, and on moving around (Activity 12) where breathlessness limits how far you can walk. The maximum, with both enhanced rates, is around £10,119 a year.

Does my daily chest physiotherapy and nebuliser routine count for PIP?

Partly. Activity 3 scores the weekly hours another person spends supervising, prompting or assisting therapy you do at home, not the time the routine takes you. Airway clearance is typically 10 to 30 minutes once or twice a day, and where someone supervises or assists it (holding postural-drainage positions, percussion or nebulised saline to aid the physio) those helped hours count under descriptors 3c to 3f. Nebulised mucolytics, nebulised or long-term oral antibiotics and the rescue and intravenous courses during flare-ups are medication, which since 2017 is not therapy: needing help or an aid with them is descriptor 3b for 1 point however long it takes. List every element with its time and who helps on the form - an unexplained "I do physio" scores nothing.

Which PIP activities does bronchiectasis affect?

Managing therapy (Activity 3) is the standout where another person helps with the twice-daily airway-clearance physio, because the hours of that help are what descriptors 3c to 3f score; the antibiotics and IV courses are medication, worth 1 point under 3b if you need help with them. Moving around (Activity 12) because breathlessness on exertion cuts how far you can walk before stopping. Preparing food (Activity 1) and washing and bathing (Activity 4) because bending, standing over steam and raising your arms leave you breathless and coughing. Engaging with people (Activity 9) where breathlessness, constant coughing and fatigue cause withdrawal. During and after a chest infection everything is worse for weeks.

What evidence helps a PIP claim for bronchiectasis?

Respiratory clinic letters and your CT scan report confirming the diagnosis and severity; your physiotherapy plan stating how many airway-clearance sessions a day and which technique or device (active cycle of breathing, postural drainage, Acapella or flutter); your prescription and nebuliser list (saline, mucolytics, colomycin or gentamicin, azithromycin); a record of exacerbations, rescue antibiotic courses and any hospital or home IV admissions over the last year; lung function results and any oxygen prescription; a symptom diary of breathlessness, sputum volume and fatigue; and a statement from someone who helps you. The exacerbation and IV history surprises assessors but proves how often the condition floors you.

Is breathlessness enough to score the PIP mobility component for bronchiectasis?

It can be. Activity 12 (moving around) measures how far you can stand and then move repeatedly, to an acceptable standard and in a reasonable time, before breathlessness, pain or fatigue stops you. If you have to stop within 20 to 50 metres - at the top of the stairs, partway up a gentle hill, across a car park - you may reach 8 to 10 points, which is standard mobility, and stopping within 20 metres scores 12 points for enhanced mobility. Time and measure a real walk on a normal day, note where you stop and how long you need to recover, and remember regulation 4(2A): doing it once gasping does not count if you cannot repeat it.

I also have COPD or asthma alongside bronchiectasis. Should I claim for everything?

Yes. Bronchiectasis frequently overlaps with COPD and asthma, and PIP scores the combined functional impact of all your conditions together, not each one in isolation. The overlap usually strengthens the claim: COPD or asthma adds to the breathlessness and the inhaler and nebuliser load, while the bronchiectasis adds the daily airway clearance, the sputum and the recurrent infections. List every diagnosis and describe one combined typical day rather than three separate conditions.