Have your say on the theme of World Asthma Day for 2010

In 2007 and 2008 we used World Asthma Day (WAD) to highlight the huge variation in asthma care across the country that resulted in an eight-fold difference in emergency hospital admissions. As a result of those campaigns, Asthma UK started work with some of the highest admitting Primary Care Organisations and the Department of Health set up an Asthma Steering Group.

In 2009, we used WAD to highlight the need for support and understanding of asthma in schools. The Health Secretary issued a ‘call to arms’ for schools to do more and many schools got in touch asking for more information and for support and training.

Believe it or not, work will soon start at Asthma UK in planning WAD 2010. Now’s your chance to have a say in what theme we will use.

In 2010, there is likely to be a General Election and at the moment, it seems likely, a change of government. The Government will be seeking to show it has met its manifesto pledges, including giving everyone with asthma a Personal Asthma Action Plan. Less than a third of us currently have one, even though they are proven to help reduce hospital admissions. The Asthma Steering Group will have made its recommendations, which we hope will include a clinical strategy on asthma. And the charity will have completed important new projects on severe asthma and childhood asthma. The economic downturn will also start to hit public services and the NHS.

We might want to use WAD to insist on delivery of Personal Asthma Action Plans by the 2010 target.

We could highlight the continuing variation in asthma care across the country.

We may want to reinforce the importance of specialist asthma nurses, if there is a danger of posts being lost in spending cuts.

Or we could focus on the demands of a particular group: children; people with severe asthma; young adults.

It’s a great opportunity to engage with NHS workers, politicians, professionals like school teachers and people with asthma.

Whatever theme we decide, we need to get across the message that asthma is serious and must not be under-estimated.

Tell us your ideas and priorities. We’ll put all your ideas into the magic pot and see what comes up for 2010.
 

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