Asthma deaths in England and Wales 'at highest level for a decade'

Asthma attack deaths in England and Wales are the highest they have been in the last decade and have risen by more than 33% over the last 10 years, latest figures show.

According to charity Asthma UK, more than 1,400 people died from asthma last year, an 8% increase compared to 2017.

Over 12,700 people have died from the condition in England and Wales in the last decade.

The figures also show an increase in men dying from the condition, with 436 men dying in 2018 compared to 370 the previous year.

Asthma UK is calling on the government to do more after a review commissioned by the NHS and Department for Health five years ago found that two-thirds of deaths could be prevented by better basic care.

Dr Samantha Walker, from Asthma UK, said: "I think doctors and nurses on the frontline need to make sure they're delivering these elements of basic care that are important. But equally important is that people with asthma need to make sure they're taking their preventative medicine regularly, that they have an action plan, that they know how to use their inhalers and that they know what to do in an emergency."

Eight-year-old Bailey Davis, who had mild asthma, was not called back for yearly reviews. His mother, Nicki, didn't know reviews were required, and in 2017, without warning, he suffered an acute attack and died, leaving behind his twin brother, Mason.

Nicki said: "Bailey walked into the bedroom and just said 'Mummy I can't breathe properly', but I couldn't see any visible gasping for breath so I said 'Ok darling, come on I'll give you your inhaler, give you some puffs', and he stood up and I said 'Are you ok?' In the flick of a light switch he'd gone.

"I then started CPR. My friend was downstairs and I called her to call an ambulance. I said 'Bailey isn't breathing' and my neighbours heard and came rushing in, bearing in mind Mason is still in bed, confused and shouting 'What's happening mummy? What's happening?"

Professor Jonathan Grigg, at Queen Mary University of London, puts the increase in asthma deaths down to two issues.

"The reason for this is very complicated. It's certainly on one hand to do with the environment - we're breathing in air pollution which we know makes asthma worse and actually we have new cases of asthma due to air pollution, but also our health care system is really not taking asthma as seriously as it should do."

In a statement Mike Morgan from NHS England said: "Asthma UK worked closely with the NHS to develop proposals in our Long Term Plan, which sets out measures including better diagnosis of the condition, improved medicine reviews and stronger guidance for local health services to better support families living with asthma, all of which will contribute to more than three million people benefiting from improved respiratory, stroke and cardiac services over the next decade, but as we've seen this week, with confirmation that one third of childhood asthma cases are linked to air pollution, it's clear that a big part of this challenge cannot be met by the NHS alone."

Asthma is thought to affect around 4.8 million people in England and Wales.