#AskAboutAsthma Campaign 2020

For 2020 campaign, keeping children’s asthma was particularly important due to the coronavirus.

To coincide with the start of the new school year and the highest hospital admission rates for asthma (week 38), Healthy London Partnership and the NHS in London, supported by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, run an annual #AskAboutAsthma campaign to encourage small steps to help improve the quality of life for London’s children and young people living with asthma.

London’s #AskAboutAsthma campaign will support

2020 campaign looked slightly different from previous years. Running from 14-20 September, it included a week-long schedule of webinars, podcasts, blogs, social media activity and a virtual conference on Wednesday 16 September (am). Each day had a particular focus, e.g. primary care, pharmacy, schools, nurses, air quality and parents and families.

View the full week’s schedule of content and event recordings here.

Improving the quality of life for London’s children and young people living with asthma

Asthma is the most common long-term medical condition affecting children and young people. 1 in 10 children and young people are affected by the condition, meaning 240,000 have asthma in London. Many have badly managed asthma – to the extent that 4,000 are admitted to hospital with asthma every year and 170 have such a severe episode that they require admission to intensive care.

At the worst end of the spectrum, around 12 children and young people die of this disease in the capital every year. Poorly controlled asthma affects every aspect of children and young people’s lives – their ability to learn, enjoy time outside the school with friends or take part in sport. It affects their time with their families and how they sleep.

We have developed a set of ambitions for how asthma care should be delivered across the city. The London asthma standards for children and young people bring together these ambitions for London with national and local standards.

The online London asthma toolkit is available to support healthcare professionals, commissioners, schools, parents, carers, children and young people in London implement the asthma standards for children and young people. There are three very simple measures that if used consistently for all children and young people with asthma would have a massive impact on the quality of life for these children and young people.

  • The use of a written asthma action plan drawn up between a clinician and asthma sufferer means people are four times less likely to have to go to the hospital for their asthma. Only 28 – 48% of children and young people with asthma in London have an asthma plan
  • Ensuring every child or young person (and their families/carers) understands how to use their inhaler effectively. Less than ¾ of children and young people have any form of instruction in how to use their inhalers meaning they may not be getting the full benefit of their asthma medication
  • An annual asthma review that will ensure those with asthma have an effective regular review of their condition and management

Air pollution

London suffers from high levels of air pollution. Air pollution acts as a trigger for many children and young people with asthma, contributing to asthma admissions and intensive care admissions, and possible some asthma deaths.

To provide support for this, we have produced the NHS Organisations: Air pollution reduction toolkit. This describes simple and free changes NHS organisations can make to reduce their contribution to London’s air pollution. For more information see our toolkit for NHS trusts on reducing their air pollution impact.

Mayor of London: Sadiq Khan

See the latest campaign.

Previous campaigns