The Asthma Podcast - Transcript March 2010

Luke: Welcome to the Asthma Podcast. Every month we’ll bring you news, research updates, asthma advice and ways you can support us.

This month, we deliver a wake-up call to Gordon Brown to demand that he delivers on his promise to abolish prescription charges for people with long-term conditions, including asthma, living in England. Also, we find out how our Alert to Asthma program is helping children with asthma in Wales and it’s time to put yourself in the limelight as we look forward to our national fundraising week.

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Luke: The prescription promise coalition descended on Parliament square last month to deliver a wake-up call to Gordon Brown. They were joined by Louise Odquier from our Web Team who spoke to the event organiser Fen Bagias and Eddie Connor and May Holloway, who both have severe asthma and suffer the additional burden of having to pay for their medicine.

Louise: So we’re here to speak now to Fen Bagias, Senior Media Officer at Asthma UK. What is the prescription promise?

Fen: The prescription promise campaign was a campaign set up by 22 charities, basically to make sure that prescriptions become free for people with long-term conditions in England, as soon as possible. Right now we’re at Parliament Square, outside the Houses of Parliament. Basically, we’ve been taking part in a stunt down here with campaigners and people with long-term conditions. We hope to get Gordon Brown to make prescriptions free for people with long-term conditions as soon as possible and certainly before the general election. Because otherwise this policy might not become a reality.

Louise: So Eddie, thanks for speaking to us today, you’re a case study for Asthma UK. So why are you here today?

Eddie: Well I’m here because it’s extremely important that Gordon Brown honours his pledge to allow people with long-term illnesses to have free prescriptions, which over the year can mount up to huge amounts of money. Myself for example, I don’t work all the time and there are times when I actually can’t pay for these things so it’s incredibly important for me to do that and there are times when I have to make choices about which medication I actually purchase which in turn can help to make my own condition deteriorate.

May: I have to pay a hundred pounds minimum to get the prescriptions I need a year. You know, you don’t think about it when you’re younger and then suddenly you’re hit with these bills for medication, as well as with my asthma I have to buy my own nebulisers and extra things that cost you know, hundreds of pounds, and it’s money I don’t really have around.

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Luke: Asthma UK works to support young people in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland through the Alert to Asthma scheme. To find out more about the Welsh scheme, we’re joined by Cat Shorney Jones, Asthma UK’s Asthma Services Development Officer. Cat, thanks for joining us, can you tell us a bit more about Alert to Asthma in Wales and how it works?

Cat: The Alert to Asthma has been running in Wales since 2006 and it’s so far gone into early years organisations and primary schools to teach those working with young children with asthma on how to best look after them and sessions themselves basically cover everything from the basics of asthma to what to do in the event of an asthma attack.

Luke: The scheme has benefited from some additional funding this year hasn’t it?

Cat: The Wales Millennium Charitable trust in Wales gave the program a significant amount of money which has enabled us to recruit more nurses through advertisement in the RCN. It’s meant that we have been able to look at our documentation again and reprint and we’re hoping to go into secondary schools to develop the program further in secondary schools so we’re hoping to launch alert to asthma secondary schools this year, the end of this year.

Luke: If schools would like to get involved with Alert to Asthma, how should they go about that?

Cat: If anybody wants any info on Alert to Asthma sessions, they can contact us on wales @asthma.org.uk.

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Luke: Asthma UK’s national fundraising week Putting Asthma in the Limelight is back for a second year and there are many ways you can involved. To find out more, we’re joined by Talia Pobischan from our fundraising team. Talia, thanks for joining us, Can you tell us a bit more about limelight and how people can take part.

Talia: Putting Asthma in the Limelight is back this year from the 1st and 9th of May and we’re trying to encourage people to raise money to support the 1.1million children with asthma in the UK by organising a fun event or being sponsored to do something they wouldn’t normally do.

There are many ways people can get involved and one thing this year we’re really trying to encourage people to do is to put themselves in the limelight. By this what we mean is people taking part in karaoke competitions, maybe at home in their games console, maybe taking part in a pub quiz and donating proceeds to Asthma UK or perhaps people who are involved in a dance ground putting on a performance and donating proceeds again.

If that doesn’t appeal, what we’re also asking people to do is wear lime – this is a really easy option and so fun too. Maybe organising a fancy dress party at home, even just adding a lime tie or lime pair of tights to a work outfit or even just kind of getting dressed up at school, organising a non-uniform day or dress down day and donating a pound per student.

Lastly, another really popular idea is eating lime and this can be really fun either by having a bake-off at school, organising a cake sale at work or even having a dinner party at home.

Luke: Why is it so important that people support us during this week?

Talia: Well there are currently 1.1million children with asthma in the UK and by taking part in the campaign you’re helping to support our vital services we provide including our Asthma UK Adviceline and Kick Asthma holidays for children and this year importantly, we’re also asking people to encourage everybody with a diagnosis of asthma, to take control by having a Personal Asthma Action Plan.

Luke: And where can people go to for more information?

Talia: The best place to go is our special Putting Asthma in the Limelight webpage which can be found at asthma.org.uk/limelight. People can find out lots more information about our fundraising week, ideas, details of our corporate partners and of course register for the fundraising week. People can also register directly by emailing limelight@asthma.org.uk or by calling 0800 121 61 55.