For the third year running, Healthy London Partnership and NHS England (London region), supported by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, are running a campaign #AskAboutAsthma from the 16-22 September, to help improve the lives of those living with asthma in the capital.
An estimated 200,000 people in the UK have severe asthma, this is a debilitating form of the condition that doesn’t respond to usual treatments and can cause people to be in and out of hospital.
1 in 10 children and young people in London have asthma but less than half of these have an asthma management plan or know how to use their inhaler correctly.
The campaign, which is launching to coincide with children and young people returning to school and the highest peak of hospital admissions for asthma, aims to encourage all children and young people to ask for advice to help them manage their asthma effectively.
This includes;
•Having an asthma management plan to help identify the right colour inhaler and dosage and the time to seek emergency help.
•To be able to use an inhaler effectively, and
•To have an annual asthma review
Dr Vin Diwakar, NHS London Region Medical Director, said: “This past year, the NHS in London has worked with children, young people, their families, schools and local councils to improve asthma care. This includes innovations such as supplying primary and secondary schools with emergency asthma school bags, group consultations, and work with councils and the Mayor of London on air pollution. Additionally, partnership working with local Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships has led to the creation of networks across London in which patients, professionals and services come together to bring about improvement.
“As a paediatrician and Medical Director for London, I am delighted that the #AskAboutAsthma campaign will return in September for a third year. The campaign will grow and reinforce the movement of organisations and people who are focussed on implementing the simple steps everyone can take to consistently provide excellent asthma care to children and young people and help them live healthier, more active lives.”
To find out more, visit https://www.healthylondon.org/resource/london-asthma-toolkit/