Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, Chair of the Royal College of
GPs, has responded to report by Asthma UK, which found that the
number of asthma deaths have increased by a third in the last
decade in England and Wales.
She said: “It’s deeply concerning to hear that the death toll for
asthma, a manageable long-term condition, in England and Wales is
the highest it’s been for a decade – and it is right that
addressing this should be a priority for the Government and the
NHS.
“Asthma is a common condition in general practice and GPs and
their nursing teams understand the importance of carefully
managing patients with asthma, including through the use of
personal asthma action plans, as well as encouraging patients to
undergo regular reviews.
“It is also vitally important that patients understand their own
treatment and how to properly use equipment, such as inhalers,
peak flow meters, and spacer devices - and GPs and our teams play
an important role in ensuring patients of all ages feel more
confident about managing their asthma appropriately and
effectively. It is also essential that patients always have
access to their prescription medication and do not allow inhalers
to run out or expire before they ask for replacement
prescriptions.
“The College has created several eLearning resources to support
GPs in identifying, treating and managing asthma, and it is a key
condition in the GP curriculum that all trainee GPs must
demonstrate competence of before they are able to practise
independently as a GP in the UK.
“Ultimately, we need more GPs and more members of the practice
team so that we can spend longer with our patients with asthma.
“That’s why we need to see more investment injected into
primary care, the delivery of the NHS Long-Term Plan, and further
details about how the proposals in the interim People Plan will
be achieved, to ensure GPs and our teams can continue to provide
the comprehensive care our all of patients, including those with
respiratory conditions, need and deserve.”
