'Asthma deaths in school are rare, but real': Schools urged to have emergency asthma pack
The McLoughlin sisters, from left, Rhiannon, Ingrid, who lives with asthma, Erica and Robyn who are from Howth, Co Dublin.
With one in five children having asthma at some point in their lives, a recent Asthma Society of Ireland survey found 94% of principals are concerned about asthma risk in their school. And, worryingly, 82% said they or their colleagues wouldn’t feel confident about managing an asthma attack to keep a child safe.
The survey was conducted among 120 school staff who’d participated in the Asthma Safe Schools programme. More than one-third of respondents had experienced a child having an asthma attack in their school – but 82% didn’t have a school asthma policy, and 78% of principals didn’t feel their school was asthma-safe.
