Campaigners call for 'fully-funded lung health strategy' for Scotland

Scotland needs a “fully-funded lung health strategy”, campaigners have insisted, as new figures showed less than a third of asthma sufferers are receiving basic care.

Making the plea on World Asthma Day, the charity Asthma and Lung UK Scotland said this lack of basic care could lead to more financial pressure on the NHS, if those with the condition have to be treated in hospital

Its 2025 survey Life With A Lung Condition, which questioned 515 asthma sufferers in Scotland, found only 30% of respondents were receiving basic asthma care, which the charity defined as having an annual asthma review, an inhaler technique check, and a written asthma plan.

That is below the figure for the UK, where 32% of asthma sufferers receive this level of care.

Asthma and Lung UK Scotland also said the figure in Scotland is down from 43% in 2017 – when the number of asthma sufferers receiving basic care was at an 11-year high.

But the charity said the decline is “especially concerning” because more than 60% of asthma deaths could be prevented with better routine care.

There are around 720,000 people living with asthma in Scotland, part of the one in five Scots who have lung conditions.

As a result Asthma and Lung UK Scotland is calling on Scottish ministers to bring forward a dedicated lung health strategy.

The plea is backed by asthma sufferer Jamie Bell, from East Lothian, who has had the condition since childhood but ended up in a coma in hospital after a near-fatal asthma attack four years ago

Mr Bell said he had “slipped through the cracks” and “should have received more support” for his condition, relying on an inhaler when he felt “wheezy” but not being given a preventative inhaler.

He said: “It’s shocking and sad that it took something like this to happen to me and my family for us to fully understand how important asthma care is and how dangerous asthma can be.

“I want people with asthma to see that they are not ‘just wheezy’ and that by getting the right care, including taking their preventer inhaler, and they can lead a full and fit life.

“There isn’t enough focus on lung conditions and people are being left behind.”

Joseph Carter, the head of Asthma and Lung UK Scotland, said: “The number of people receiving basic asthma care in Scotland is far too low.

“This is not only bad for the individual, but it puts financial pressure on health boards and increases bed days if people are admitted.

“Everyone should be entitled to basic asthma care such as a yearly check-up, an asthma plan and help using their inhaler so they can manage their condition.”

Mr Carter stressed the need to “make lung health a priority”, adding that “in particular, we need a focus on education and support to help stop people with asthma being hospitalised or worse”.

“With Scotland lagging behind the UK average in delivering basic asthma care, we also need to see radical improvements in the way health services diagnose, treat and help people manage asthma,” he said.

“Lung conditions like asthma need to be taken as seriously and that is why it is vitally important for the Scottish Government to have a fully-funded lung health strategy.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “It is terribly worrying that Scotland is not getting the basics right.

“My party has consistently campaigned for improving air quality to reduce respiratory illnesses like asthma, advocating for reducing traffic emissions and delivering research and support for those affected.

“It’s especially important that the Scottish Government ensure that those with asthma can get swift care as many of those deaths are entirely avoidable. The SNP have failed patients waiting for care in Scotland’s NHS.”

Public health minister Jenni Minto said: “The Scottish Government is working with key stakeholders across health and social care to ensure the new guidelines on asthma diagnosis, monitoring and management can become a reality for clinical professionals and those living with asthma.

“We know most people with asthma are treated by their GP or practice nurse. We have dedicated a greater proportion of new NHS funding to primary and community care so that GPs and services in the community will have the resources they need for their essential role in managing conditions like asthma.”