(UK) Tameside: Young people with asthma; "One of the highest admission ratings in England"
- The end of childhood
- May 3
- 2 min read
May 3, 2025, Tameside Correspondent: Work ongoing to help alleviate Tameside’s asthma issue
NW England
THE EVER-DEVELOPING world has seen a rise in pollution levels – and Tameside’s children are particularly affected, with one of the biggest hospital admission rates in England.
But what is being done to try and stop the problem becoming bigger?
Nicole Turner, specialist pharmacy technician in paediatric asthma at Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust, has told The Correspondent ahead of World Asthma Day on Wednesday, May 7.
WORLD Asthma Day is a yearly event to raise awareness about asthma, a chronic respiratory disease affecting about 5.4 million (1.1 million of these are children) in the UK alone.
About three people die from asthma in the country each day.
And it is having a huge effect on children in Tameside. We have one of the highest admission ratings in England.
The area has more than three times the nation’s average of hospital admissions in children under the age of 19.
Some of the key factors that have an impact on the children in our area are deprivation, outside and inside pollution and second-hand smoke.
Secondly, the education around asthma and how important it is to take medications which are prescribed.
The asthma team at Tameside Hospital is trying to get the number of admissions down, as we know that each admission a child has to hospital in relation to their asthma increases their chances of having a life-threatening episode.
One of the projects we have going on at the minute includes seeing patients for asthma reviews.
If the child has been into accident and emergency with theirs, we educate families on the importance of taking medications as they are prescribed.
We are also going through allergies and triggers and signposting families to Allergy UK, which has some great tips on how to deal with allergies, such as removing teddies from children’s beds so they are free from dust mites and ways to improve damp and mould in their houses and how to seek help with living conditions.
We are also conducting FENO tests – which measures the levels of nitric oxide on the lungs and indicates inflammation. . . .
Ensure your child is taking their inhaler as they should be, even if you think “they are well.”
The Asthma UK website has Inhaler technique videos available – this way you can ensure your child is getting their full dose of medication.
Comments