Policy makers ignorant about asthma
23 September 2008

The social, environmental and emotional aspects of living with asthma in Scotland are being ignored by the country’s policy makers, according to a new Asthma UK Scotland report.

15 years, 15 stories has been published by Asthma UK Scotland to mark the charity’s fifteenth birthday. It features the accounts of 15 people with asthma and the massive impact their personal circumstances have on their condition, on a daily basis.

The report reveals that asthma is not always prioritised within health services, issues that affect its control are neglected and its severity is not recognised by sectors outside the health service. It also shows that people with asthma are being excluded from everyday activities and the attitudes of others can worsen asthma symptoms.

Amongst the stories contained in the report are those of a single-parent with severe asthma who was offered a third-floor council house and was told ‘asthma doesn’t stop your legs from working’ and a woman whose fellow students bullied her so much at college it brought on an asthma attack and she had to be hospitalised.

The report also includes stories of a pensioner who cares for her grand-daughter, who has asthma and is clinically obese, who is worried about her poor diet and lack of exercise, a man who developed occupational asthma after working in a factory where the extraction pipes were poorly insulated and an Indian woman who can’t access asthma information in her own language.

Shona Haslam, National Director at Asthma UK Scotland, said: ‘This report focuses on issues which are rarely discussed when talking about asthma despite the fact they can have a huge impact on people’s lives.

‘In line with our commitment to the development of consistent, high-quality standards for asthma care throughout Scotland, it is important to understand the impact of health inequalities for people with asthma and how these inequalities can be tackled.

‘This is about more than just "accessing health services”. An inclusive asthma policy must be adopted as part of corporate visions and future plans of public and private bodies. They will need to develop protocols for how the broader needs of people with asthma will be met by their services.

‘That is why it is so disappointing the Scottish Government has no plans to produce a National Respiratory Strategy to secure consistent, high quality care for all people with asthma. However, we will continue to lobby them to ensure that the 390,000 people with asthma in Scotland receive the best possible support and treatment, regardless of their circumstances.’