Asthma UK Northern Ireland seeks support from Health Committee
19 November 2008

Asthma UK Northern Ireland has used an exclusive round table discussion with the Health Committee to seek their support and Intervention to ensure that the Department of Health and Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) keep its promises to people with asthma, and to highlight current issues affecting people with the condition in Northern Ireland.

Joan O’Hagan met with members representing each political party to discuss outstanding commitments including the implementation of the Service Framework for Respiratory Health, which is long overdue for formal consultation and implementation, having been a year in development. The Committee was also urged to ensure that the DHSSPS allocates adequate resources to implement the framework successfully across Northern Ireland.

Current issues facing people with asthma, including high hospital admissions, were also discussed. Northern Ireland has some of the highest rates of asthma in the world with around 2,000 people admitted to hospital because of their condition every year, almost half of whom are children. As well as the devastating effect on people’s lives, emergency hospital admissions are extremely costly and form a large part of the estimated £1 billion cost of asthma to the NHS/HPSS each year.

Of particular cause for concern are high admissions in the Western Health and Social Services Board area, where children are almost 50% more likely to be hospitalised for their asthma than those living in the Eastern Health and Social Services Board area. Joan says: ‘There is a clear need to reduce high admissions and analyse the reasons for the unacceptable difference between Health and Social Services Boards. Increased investment is vital in primary and community services, in particular, to fund more asthma nurse specialists to help keep people out of hospital, so we want to see a commitment by the Health Committee to address this urgent issue with the Department.’

Joan also expressed her concern about the lack of involvement of the voluntary sector in the ‘tendering process’ which is currently underway in Northern Ireland for the use of generic drugs. Joan says: ‘Whilst we support the attempt to have more cost effective drugs there is a need for the involvement of organisations such as ourselves in this process to ensure patient views are represented and for clear information to be shared with the public about this process.’

‘Evidence shows that it is vital that people with asthma are able to take their medicines correctly in order to achieve good control of their condition. It is therefore important that whenever generic medicines are prescribed, relevant information is given, particularly on inhaler technique and that healthcare professionals are fully trained to provide this advice. We hope the Health Committee will ensure that the DHSSPS work closely with us and that people with asthma are empowered to manage their condition safely and effectively.’ 

*Generic prescribing is when a doctor prescribes a medicine using the generic name of its active ingredient. The name given to a medicine when it is first licensed for use is its trade name, or brand or proprietary name, and this identifies it as the exclusive property of a particular company.

For further information, contact the Asthma UK media office on 020 7786 4949 or at mediaoffice@asthma.org.uk.

1. Asthma UK is the charity dedicated to improving the health and well-being of 5.4 million people in the UK whose lives are affected by asthma.
2. More than 182,000 people in Northern Ireland have asthma: 146,000 adults and 36,000 children.
3. For up-to-date news on asthma, information and publications, visit the Asthma UK website asthma.org.uk
4. For independent and confidential advice on asthma, call the Asthma UK Adviceline, which is staffed by asthma nurse specialists. It is open weekdays from 9am to 5pm on 08457 01 02 03. Or email an asthma nurse at asthma.org.uk/adviceline