Asthma UK Comment On 21st Century Children's Health Service

Main Category: Respiratory / Asthma
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 15 Feb 2009 - 2:00 PST

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Neil Churchill, Chief Executive at Asthma UK says: 'While we were pleased to see the Government's commitment to improving access to services and information, we were disappointed that relatively little attention has been given to the needs of children and young people with long-term conditions, such as asthma, while they are in school. In particular, the ambiguous recommendation for every area to have a School Health Team seems to be a real step back from the Government's previous pledge to resource comprehensive provision of school nurses by 2010.

'It should also be mandatory for schools to have adequate policies, including clear procedures for training teachers, to enable children and young people with long-term conditions to get the most from school. We know that their experiences are highly variable at present. A third of children with asthma tell us that asthma can result in them being left out of sport and a quarter miss more than six days of school a year because of the condition. It is vital these children know that they will be supported to achieve their full potential. A promise to rewrite existing guidance on medicines management is simply not enough.'

Asthma UK