Charity report finds 'too many children admitted to hospital for emergency asthma care in Wales'
Charities are urging the Welsh Government to take urgent action to improve basic asthma care
Charities are urging the Welsh Government to take urgent action to improve basic asthma care to help reduce the number of children being hospitalised.
Asthma + Lung UK Cymru highlighted data from the National Respiratory Audit Programme (NRAP) Wales primary care audit report 2021-23, which revealed 'significant failings in children’s asthma care led to unnecessary hospitalisations'.
With the publication of the new NRAP Wales primary care audit report 2023-25, the charity sats 'little has changed, and targets are still being missed'.
The number of emergency asthma admissions for children in 2024/25 was 957
The charity says that the National Review of Asthma Deaths published in 2014, states that a major cause of asthma deaths was the lack of adequate basic care.
Less than one in four (24%) children received a personalised asthma action plan in the past 15 months.
Less than half (47%) of children with asthma had a record of any objective measurement in the last 2 years- this has increased from 40% in 2021-23.4
The charity points out that that asthma action plans are 'essential for ensuring the safety of children with asthma and should be provided during their annual asthma review'.
Hospitalisations are down from the previous assessment, but the charity has branded the lack of significant progress as “unacceptable.”
In Wales, there are over 40,000 children living with asthma
Joseph Carter, Head of Asthma + Lung UK Cymru said:
“Although the new government’s ambition to end child poverty is welcome, they have made no commitment to ensuring that children living with chronic health conditions get the care they deserve.
“We’re therefore calling on the new Welsh Government to urgently review the findings of the latest NRAP report and implement necessary improvements in children’s asthma care.
“Nearly a thousand children every year end up in hospital due to an asthma attack or related emergency, showing that families are not being provided the knowledge they need to manage asthma effectively. Yet, with early diagnosis and clinical support, youngsters with asthma should be able to live normal lives.
“It has been two years since the findings of the last audit on asthma care for children in Wales were published, and even though there has been a slight improvement, fundamentally little has changed. This lack of real action is worrying and frankly unacceptable.
“Children’s asthma care needs to be at the top of the new Welsh Government’s health agenda, helping to save lives and reduce emergency hospital admissions.”
In response, the Welsh Government says:
“Our expectations for the NHS delivery of respiratory care includes a focus on care plan provision and chronic condition management.
“The Strategic Clinical Network for Respiratory Disease is working with health boards in Wales to support improvement in the quality of care.
“Substantial funding is provided to health boards to deliver a comprehensive package of support for children and young people with conditions such as asthma.”