Northern Ireland Electricity supports Alert to Asthma programme
17 September 2008

Asthma UK Northern Ireland has received a generous grant from Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) Staff and Pensioners Charity Fund towards the Alert to Asthma programme, which provides asthma awareness sessions for school staff and those providing care in the early years.

Alert to Asthma helps those working in the education and nursery sectors to increase their asthma knowledge and skills to help the children in their care. The sessions are tailored to meet individual needs but include an overview of what asthma is, how asthma affects people with the condition, what triggers asthma attacks, how to recognise and manage an asthma attack and how Asthma UK can support staff in their work together with the importance of a school asthma policy.

Approximately 36,000 children in Northern Ireland are being treated for asthma. That equates to two children in every school class and many experience a range of problems at school because of their asthma.

Our experience of carrying out previous Alert to Asthma sessions shows that teachers and early years professionals can make a significant difference if given the appropriate knowledge and skills. Prior to one such programme, 89% of the participants advised that they had little or no knowledge about asthma, and after the training 82% said that the sessions were very informative, well presented and that they now knew enough to confidently look after children with asthma in their care.

Joan O’Hagan, Director Asthma UK Northern Ireland, said ‘This project has the potential to improve the quality of life for hundreds of children in Northern Ireland, not just this year but for many years to come. We aim to train 240 education and early years professionals in 2008 and the grant from NIE Staff and Pensioners Charity Fund will help us achieve this target. We are most grateful for their support. Asthma UK Northern Ireland relies almost entirely on voluntary donations so the support we receive from companies like NIE Staff and Pensioners Charity Fund is vital in helping us achieve our ultimate vision of ‘control over asthma today, freedom from asthma tomorrow.’

Find out more
For further information about Alert to Asthma programme in Northern Ireland or to book a session please contact Deborah Millar on 028 90737293 or deborahmillar@asthma.org.uk.