The standard blue inhaler used for asthma in the UK.
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Over half of asthma sufferers in London skip inhaler doses due to “unaffordable costs”, according to Asthma UK. The charity carried out the largest ever survey on asthma prescription charges.
Its Senior Policy Officer, Krisnah Poinasamy, encourages asthma sufferers to “take their inhalers” to avoid a “life-threatening asthma attack”. But he is also calling on the government to stop “unfair” asthma prescription charges.
The Department of Health and Social Care says they are “committed to ensuring people with long-term conditions get access to the treatment they need”. In a statement, the Department claims that “around 90% of prescription items are free on the NHS.”
Prescriptions cost ‘£1000s’
But one asthma sufferer, Daniel Foulds, feels that paying for his prescription is equivalent to paying “a tax to breathe and keep myself alive”.
Mr Foulds has a very serious form of asthma. This means that he can go from “being breathless within seconds to having a full blown attack within a minute”.
Speaking to City News he says he frequently ends up in hospitals as the medications are too expensive. They cost him “nearly £1000” a year. Mr Foulds believes that if other fatal conditions do not have to pay for their prescriptions, then neither should asthma sufferers.
‘Raj’, a blogger at the Weekly Wheeze, sympathises with Mr Foulds. It is easy to fall into in debt, he told City News. “Asthma is a long-term never-ending condition which requires constant treatment”.
High levels of air pollution
Asthma is worsened by the dangerous levels of air pollution in the capital.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan this week issued a high alert. He warns adults and children with lung or heart problems to “reduce physical exertion, particularly outdoors”.
Air-quality alerts are being displayed at 2,500 bus countdown signs and river pier signs across London. This will also include the entrances to all 270 underground stations. Roadside message boards will also flash instructions to drivers to switch engines off when stationary.
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HeadlineHalf of London’s asthma sufferers are skipping doses, according to report
Short Headline50% of London's asthma sufferers skip doses
StandfirstAsthma UK is calling upon the government to end prescription charges for asthma medication.
Over half of asthma sufferers in London skip inhaler doses due to “unaffordable costs”, according to Asthma UK. The charity carried out the largest ever survey on asthma prescription charges.
Its Senior Policy Officer, Krisnah Poinasamy, encourages asthma sufferers to “take their inhalers” to avoid a “life-threatening asthma attack”. But he is also calling on the government to stop “unfair” asthma prescription charges.
The Department of Health and Social Care says they are “committed to ensuring people with long-term conditions get access to the treatment they need”. In a statement, the Department claims that “around 90% of prescription items are free on the NHS.”
Prescriptions cost ‘£1000s’
But one asthma sufferer, Daniel Foulds, feels that paying for his prescription is equivalent to paying “a tax to breathe and keep myself alive”.
Mr Foulds has a very serious form of asthma. This means that he can go from “being breathless within seconds to having a full blown attack within a minute”.
Speaking to City News he says he frequently ends up in hospitals as the medications are too expensive. They cost him “nearly £1000” a year. Mr Foulds believes that if other fatal conditions do not have to pay for their prescriptions, then neither should asthma sufferers.
‘Raj’, a blogger at the Weekly Wheeze, sympathises with Mr Foulds. It is easy to fall into in debt, he told City News. “Asthma is a long-term never-ending condition which requires constant treatment”.
High levels of air pollution
Asthma is worsened by the dangerous levels of air pollution in the capital.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan this week issued a high alert. He warns adults and children with lung or heart problems to “reduce physical exertion, particularly outdoors”.
Air-quality alerts are being displayed at 2,500 bus countdown signs and river pier signs across London. This will also include the entrances to all 270 underground stations. Roadside message boards will also flash instructions to drivers to switch engines off when stationary.
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