40% fall in asthma deaths

A DRAMATIC 40% reduction in the number of asthma deaths last year has been cautiously welcomed by the Asthma Society of Ireland.

The Central Statistics Office reported 34 asthma deaths in 2010 — the lowest recorded figure to date.

“While it is difficult to identify any one reason for the dramatic fall in 2010, reducing asthma deaths has been at the core of the Asthma Society’s five-year strategy,” it stated yesterday.

Chairwoman of the society, Angela Edghill, said any reduction in the number of asthma deaths in Ireland was welcome news for the 470,000 Irish people living with the condition.

“The fact that 34 people died from asthma last year was a tragedy,” she said.

The society’s chief executive, Dr Jean Holohan, said asthma control in Ireland remained sub-optimal for the majority of patients.

Between 2009 and 2010 the society funded and implemented an asthma management programme in 25 GP practices in Ireland, delivering guideline-based care to more than 700 patients.

Key aspects of the programme have been incorporated into the HSE national asthma programme.

Dr Holohan said the society’s significant investment in patient education and focused awareness campaigns was beginning to show real benefits with reductions in hospital admissions and deaths from asthma.

“The HSE must now match our investment in asthma care and step up its activities to deliver these services quickly and in an integrated way to achieve sustained measurable results,” she said. “We feel we have certainly played a significant part in improving the quality of care and clinical outcomes for patients to date and hope to continue to do that in partnership with the HSE.”