Putting an end to child asthma deaths

Whilst child asthma deaths are rare, in recent years there have been a small number of tragic cases of children who have died because they failed to get the basic care they needed. Adam from our policy team explains why this is happening and looks at findings from a recent Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch report into the care of children with asthma.

The death of a young girl who died from an asthma attack sparked the National Review of Asthma Deaths (NRAD) in 2014. The review found that two-thirds of asthma deaths were preventable with better routine care. It also revealed an urgent need for better data sharing and joined-up care amongst healthcare professionals working in GP practices and hospitals, so they could identify patients most at risk of having an asthma attack. Yet seven years on, little action has been taken.

Of the 19 recommendations made by NRAD to improve basic care and reduce the number of asthma deaths, only one has been implemented nationally.

The Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch report

The Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) was recently set up to conduct independent investigations into care provided by the NHS across England.

On World Asthma Day, HSIB published their findings from an investigation into the care of children with asthma. Once again, the report highlighted the same failings we sadly see in asthma care time and time again. It is particularly worrying that the near-fatal event HSIB investigated shared similarities with the deaths of Sophie Holman, Tamara Mills and Michael Uriely. NRAD’s recommendations continue to be ignored.

The HSIB report has shone a spotlight on the need for more awareness about the seriousness of asthma amongst healthcare professionals, people with asthma, and the parents of children with the condition. It is unacceptable that children’s lives are being put in danger due to a lack of understanding about asthma and that those at risk of having an asthma attack are not being spotted. This report should be a wake-up call for the NHS.

Children with asthma cannot receive a formal diagnosis of their condition until they reach the age of five. Asthma UK has been calling for children aged five or under with suspected asthma to have their status formally logged in GP records, so they don’t fall off the radar. It would mean that they are more likely to receive appropriate treatment and management for their condition, and have the necessary tests they need to confirm or rule out their asthma diagnosis as soon as they turn five. Written asthma action plans are another crucial but basic element in preventing asthma attacks, yet our recent Annual Asthma Survey found that nearly half of people with asthma do not have one. We are pleased to see that these issues are covered in HSIB’s recommendations.

Get support from Asthma UK

We know how worrying it can be for parents whose child has asthma. We want to encourage any parents to get support from Asthma UK as we have a range of resources on getting a diagnosis and asthma treatment on our website. Our Helpline team is also here to support everyone with asthma. You can contact us with any of your asthma questions and concerns.

Next steps

Asthma UK has been campaigning hard to ensure every child with asthma gets the most basic level of care to keep them well. This includes an annual review, a written asthma action plan, and an inhaler technique check.

We are also working with NHS England to support the delivery of their Long Term Plan which will improve the care of children with asthma. We hope the HSIB investigation and recommendations they have made will bring us closer to ensuring child asthma deaths finally become ‘never events’ in the NHS.

Asthma research is severely underfunded

DID YOU KNOW: Research into respiratory diseases like asthma accounts for just 2% of all the medical research funding in the UK.

This underfunding is exactly why we launched the 2021 Research Appeal...