Over 60% of people with asthma still not receiving basic care
According to Asthma UK’s annual survey of 4,650 people, two-thirds of people living with asthma are not receiving the basic care they need to manage their asthma day to day.
The survey found that 7 out of 10 people living with asthma are not given any follow-up appointment with either a GP or nurse after ending up in hospital.
What is encouraging from the survey, however, is that 42% of patients were provided with an asthma action plan in 2016 which is up from 35% on the previous year and 24% in 2013. However, there are still large numbers of asthma patients who don’t have an asthma plan and this is worrying say Asthma UK. The risks of not having a written asthma plan are not good. The likelihood of ending up in hospital with an asthma attack is four times higher for those without a plan in place. Clearly, there is still some way to go in helping asthma patients.
Dr Andy Whittamore, Asthma UK’s Clinical Lead and in-house GP, said: “Good asthma care means having a thorough asthma review, being on the right medication, knowing how to use your inhaler correctly and having a written asthma action plan. It is worrying that basic care is not being delivered on a consistent basis, because every person with asthma should be receiving this care.”
You can read more about the survey in Asthma UK’s Annual Report here.
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Last revised: 12 January 2017
Next review: 12 January 2020
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