Fed up with variable quality of care? Want to do something about it? Then help us make the case for national standards in asthma.
Asthma UK talks a lot about the importance of national standards for asthma - why is that?
Well, a lot of it is to do with the eight-fold difference in outcomes between different parts of the country. Remember on World Asthma Day this year we reported that children with asthma who live in Liverpool are eight times more likely to be hospitalised for their asthma than if they live in Richmond on Thames.
But it’s also to do with a bigger need for care that is consistently good. Many people tell me that the quality of their care depends on who they happen to see. Some GPs are tremendous. Others give the impression they don’t care. Sometimes a hospital admission leaves you feeling calm and in control. Other times it can all seem to go wrong.
We believe that national standards would drive up the quality and the consistency of care across the board. We don’t think it’s surprising that Scotland – where there are children’s standards – has much less variation in child hospital admissions than England – where there are none. Without standards, we can expect an ongoing postcode lottery, which means many of us will get poor quality care because of who we are or where we live.
That has got to be unacceptable.
The point of my blog today is to say that we now have three months to do something about it. Three months to persuade Government in England that they should adopt national standards in asthma.
That’s when the Department of Health is expected to publish a National Service Framework for COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder). One chapter of that NSF is expected to include a commitment to adding a second chapter – and if we make a good case, that second chapter could be about asthma.
So if you have had a bad experience and want to make things better – join me in writing to:
David Nicholson, Chief Executive of the NHS
Richmond House
Whitehall
London
SW1A 2NS
And please share with us what you say and what replies you get.
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