Working life with Sarah O’Connor: 'It’s vital we hear the voices of people with asthma'

7am

I’ve been known to hit “snooze” on the alarm. Generally, though, I’m on the iphone, browsing emails, so my head’s in work before I’m out of bed. If I’ve an early meeting, I drive, after a breakfast of tea and porridge. Otherwise, I get the bus and enjoy a 10-minute walk to the office [Asthma Society of Ireland] on Amiens St.

8.50am

I love when my day starts with a business breakfast or networking event. My role involves advocating for people with asthma, working with other charities, healthcare professionals and decision makers. It includes lobbying government to improve services. In our recent pre-budget submission, we called on the government to fund a long-promised annual GP asthma reviews for people with asthma, and to change the regulations to make it easier for schools, clubs and workplaces to have a reliever inhaler in the event of someone having an asthma attack. Currently, the regulations are unworkable and require an unnecessary burden of training.

11am

I’m working on drafting a funding proposal for a National Youth Asthma Council. It would involve one school in each province becoming asthma champions. Kids with asthma miss out persistently so it’s important for friendship, schoolwork and quality of life that they take their medication. I find it helps to talk about my own experience of childhood asthma and to explain the science of breathing, to show what asthma actually is. It helps kids realise it’s normal to take their inhalers and to ask for help.

Lunch

Tends to be a working lunch with a GP, consultant or corporate partner but lunch with our own team is always fun.

2pm

I’ve a meeting with the HSE about the National Clinical Programme for Asthma. Approximately 450,000 people in Ireland have asthma, one in five children.

3pm

I check in with staff manning our free Adviceline 1800 44 54 64, for people with asthma or COPD. When people ring with queries, we arrange a callback by a specialist nurse to discuss what a diagnosis means, what to do in the event of an attack, the importance of medication management.It’s vital we hear the voices of people with asthma to understand their needs.

6.30pm

Some evenings, I head to a fundraising or networking event. Otherwise, I enjoy writing poetry and making time for my boyfriend or friends.

- Sarah O’Connor is CEO of the Asthma Society of Ireland