Schools to be able to keep emergency asthma inhaler
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
The Government has committed to changing the law on allowing emergency asthma inhalers in schools.
As of the autumn, children who suffer from asthma will be able to access a spare emergency inhaler if they experience an attack while at school.
The secretary of state for health Jeremy Hunt confirmed during yesterday’s health questions in Parliament that a change in law will come into force on 1 October.
Currently it is illegal for schools to hold a spare emergency inhaler in their first aid kits.
The Government’s commitment, follows years of campaigning by the charity Asthma UK, which estimates that more than 900,000 children will benefit from having access to a spare asthma inhaler at school.
A public consultation by the charity in May saw more than 6,500 people back Asthma UK’s call for a change in law.
Kay Boycott, chief executive of Asthma UK, said, ‘Asthma kills the equivalent of a classroom of children every year in the UK and every single day 84 children admitted to hospital for emergency treatment for asthma. This change in the law will undoubtedly be a huge relief to millions of parents across the UK so we are delighted the Government has made this historic commitment to keeping children with asthma safe at school.
‘It is absolutely vital that every child with asthma has an asthma action plan. These help parents to understand their child’s symptoms, how to know if their child’s asthma is getting worse and what they need to do about it. Children who don’t have an action plan are four times more likely to need to go to hospital for their asthma.’
