Lack of asthma awareness puts children at risk

Asthma UK recently voiced concerns about the lack of public awareness surrounding asthma. They released data that suggests that 88% of UK adults would not feel confident about dealing with a child in their care who was having an asthma attack.

Around 5.4 million people in the UK are affected by asthma, a respiratory condition in which certain triggers cause the airways to become narrower and irritated, making it difficult to breathe, and 1.1 million of these are children. It is the most common long-term condition in children in the UK.

The prevalence of the condition makes it even more shocking that the majority of people are clueless when it comes to dealing with an attack. Yet the case of 11-year-old Samuel Linton, who died after being left alone in a school corridor for several hours while suffering from an asthma attack, has served to make the facts hit home.

The National Foundation for Educational Research surveyed a representative sample of 1,600 teachers from across England and found that around 75% would not feel confident about what action to take if a child in their class had an asthma attack. Indeed, an inquest into Samuel Linton’s death concluded that school staff lacked the necessary training to be able to recognise an attack and respond appropriately in an emergency situation.

Although believed to be a relatively harmless condition, asthma is responsible for the hospitalisation of one child every 17 minutes in the UK and claims the lives of the equivalent of a classroom full of children every year. Tragically, around 90% of these deaths are preventable.

Asthma UK’s Chief Executive, Neil Churchill, says: “The complacency that exists about asthma in the UK is shocking and dangerous and cannot continue. Every member of the public needs to know the signs of worsening asthma and what steps to take if someone suffers an asthma attack. Not acting quickly enough can result in needless deaths that shatter lives.”

When commenting on the death of Samuel Linton back in March, Neil also said: “This tragic event reinforces the urgent need for mandatory asthma training as part of teacher training, including ongoing assessment, and we will be pursuing this vital requirement with Governments across the UK. It also highlights how important it is that every school takes asthma seriously and has in place policies and procedures to deal with students with asthma.”

We have a new Inhalers and Nebulisers training course which is suitable for carers, teachers and parents and will increase awareness and knowledge about asthma. Course content includes information about the respiratory system, an explanation of asthma and description of its treatment. The course teaches delegates about inhalers and nebulisers and other medication.

Head of Quality and Curriculum, Charlotte Potter, explains: “This is an important course for anyone in the health, social care and paediatric sectors. Statistics show that an average of two children in every UK classroom have asthma and we have the highest prevalence rates of asthma in children in the world. This means that we cannot take it too seriously and that basic training for every teacher and childcarer should be a requirement, not an ideal. Our specially designed two hour training course makes it easy to raise your awareness of this common condition and can prove invaluable in an emergency situation.”