National Asthma Campaign
Background information
Asthma is a serious and growing problem in the UK. It is
also the only treatable chronic condition in the western
world that is still on the increase.
With over 3.4 million people in the UK with asthma and
a child admitted to hospital every 10 minutes due to asthma,
the work of the National Asthma Campaign is invaluable.
The National Asthma Campaign is the only independent UK
charity dedicated to conquering asthma and improving the
quality of life for people with asthma today and in the
future. It does so through a combination of research, education
and support and works in partnership with people with asthma
and all who share their concerns.
The Charity was formed in January 1990 from the amalgamation
of the Asthma Research Council (Est. 1927), the Asthma Society
(Est. 1980) and Friends of Asthma Research Council (Est.
1972). We will be celebrating our tenth anniversary this
coming year. Over these ten years we have:
- Invested £16 million directly into funding independent
asthma research and currently commits approaching £3
million annually to promoting, funding and disseminating
the results of a wide range of asthma research that will
directly help people with asthma now or ultimately cure
or prevent asthma in the future.
- Developed a range of independent information, advice
and support services that reach many thousands of people
with asthma, their families and friends, as well as the
health and other professionals who care for them. These
services are available at our main office in London as
well as our office in Scotland, our information centre
in Cornwall and our many voluntary groups all over the
UK. Last year our Asthma Helpline, a national service
staffed by trained asthma nurse specialists, took over
18,500 calls.
- Established itself as the independent authority on
asthma. The charity has strived to raise awareness of
asthma and related allergies through media work, campaigning
for changes that will benefit people with asthma and public
education initiatives. Most recently we convinced Government
of the value of self-management for people with asthma.
This was included in the recent public health white paper
Saving Lives and, as a result the charity is now represented
on the Department of Health’s new Expert Patients
Programme.
- All this work, funded entirely by voluntary donations,
aims to achieve the following outcomes:
- People with asthma are empowered to make informed decisions
about how to manage their asthma and take action to achieve
what they have a right to expect.
- People with asthma are able to live in an asthma-friendly
society and have equal access to the best evidence-based
care and support across all settings.
- Strategies that prevent (or reduce) asthma and identify
individuals at risk; better treatments, or ultimately
a cure, are made available and/or there is improved use
of existing treatments.
All of which, if achieved, would mean we could conquer asthma
for the 3.4 million people with asthma in the UK today as
well as future generations.
Currently though, we only have the resources to reach a
small fraction of people with asthma – we believe
that many more people with asthma should be benefiting from
our services. Currently we only fund a small fraction of
the research proposals we receive, which very much limits
the progress we can make on achieving our ultimate vision
of a world without asthma. These are both reasons why we
are committed to a long-term growth strategy for the charity
and why we need more funds to support our work.
Website: www.asthma.org.uk
Email: abroatch@asthma.org.uk
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