Priorities for asthma care

In my post box, there is a copy of the manifesto for children and young people with asthma. It provides a list of priorities decided by children and young people themselves and sets out a way forward which includes:-

• recognition and awareness of asthma
• all schools to create and implement a policy to support us, backed by an awareness raising campaign
• to implement a set of consistent standards for asthma services
• to increase the number of school nurses
• school inspections should measure the performance of schools in supporting and including children with health conditions

There is evidence that smoke and fumes that come from vehicle exhausts are harmful to health. 62% of people with Asthma say that traffic fumes make their Asthma worse. I recognise that there is a need to address concerns about asthma in schools but also,increased measures are required to combat deaths caused by vehicle pollution. We must make investment into the buses and the Subway to improve services and reduce fares. This is positive action to reduce our pollution levels, improve the health and well-being of our citizens. We must assist the development of health promotion activity to reduce hospital admissions for children with asthma. 

Useful links

Asthma UK Scotland - http://www.asthma.org.uk/scotland/index.html

Research on Smoking, Asthma and Quality of Life  - http://adc.bmj.com/content/90/3/253.abstract