Stevenage MP is a champion for asthmatics
CHAMPIONING the cause of asthma sufferers is Stevenage MP Stephen McPartland.
He is the chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Asthma and hosted a reception for MPs in Parliament on Wednesday.
He has pledged to support Asthma UK’s latest campaign by writing to influential stakeholders including the secretary of state for health, Hertfordshire Primary Care Trust and the regional respiratory programme board.
The aim is to put asthma firmly on the agenda and involve a range of local professionals and patients in the commissioning of services.
Asthma UK wants higher standards of care to reduce asthma deaths.
The campaign follows a new survey of GPs by Asthma UK and the Primary Care Respiratory Society UK (PCRS-UK) which shows that over half of GPs agree the number of deaths from asthma could be reduced with better care and a third think that asthma care should be prioritised more highly.
People with asthma also agree that care could be improved. Over 1,500 people have shared their experiences on Asthma UK’s interactive map where they have been encouraged to get their asthma story “off their chest”.
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The idea of the map is to highlight the real impact asthma has on lives across the UK and to show why the condition should be taken seriously.
Neil Churchill, Asthma UK chief executive, said: “I was delighted that Stephen agreed to host our reception and pledge his support for our campaign and agree to take action. Hopefully together we can demonstrate the life-changing impact asthma can have on people and influence others to make asthma a bigger priority in improving standards of care.”
