Welsh Asthma services struggling to breathe - Randerson

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 7th May 2008

Jenny Randerson AM wants to see better asthma services across all of Wales

Welsh Lib Dem Spokesperson for Health Jenny Randerson AM today challenged the Minister for Health to urgently address the massive variations in services for asthma sufferers across Wales.

Figures from Asthma UK Cymru show that an asthma sufferer living in Blaeanau Gwent is three times more likely to be hospitalised than one living in Ceredigion or Powys.

Personal Asthma Action Plans (PAAPs) have done much in recent years to reduced the need for hospitalisation but figures show that only 16% of sufferers in Wales have a PAAP. WAG targets say that all sufferers should have a PAAP by September this year but the Minister today admitted to Jenny Randerson that she is not confident that the target will be met.

Jenny Randerson said: "We already know that Wales has far higher rates of asthma than the rest of the UK, even with a simple Barnett consequential of the cost to the NHS of hospital admissions for asthma sufferers, we know that it will cost the NHS in Wales at least £50m per year."

"Even the Minister herself is now admitting that the targets for PAAPs will not be met. This is scandalous, not only for the health of asthma sufferers across Wales, but for the cost to the NHS budget as well."

"PAAPs would do so much to ease the suffering of this potentially debilitating illness, and the Minister must now ratchet up her efforts to effectively deal with the problems."

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