Asthma Patients 'Could Risk Death Through Complacency'

Asthma sufferers could be at a higher risk of a fatal attack because they don't know how bad their condition is.

That's according to Asthma UK Scotland which is revealing figures showing people here are the worst in the UK at missing annual check-ups.

Presciption errors have been found in half of deaths from the condition, and more than half of those killed hadn't had a check that year.

Gordon Brown, National Director of Asthma UK Scotland said: "The fact that Scotland has the lowest percentage of patients attending their annual reviews in the UK highlights a serious challenge for doctors.

"It's one that shouldn't be underestimated as there's no doubt this is putting a third of people with asthma at greater risk of a potentially fatal asthma attack. With the worrying scale of prescribing errors identified by the National Review of Asthma Deaths, it's vital that doctors and nurses do everything they can to follow up with patients to review their medicines, especially as asthma can vary hugely over the year. "

Dr Mark Levy, National Review of Asthma Deaths clinical lead at the Royal College of Physicians said: "Asthma reviews were used as one of the indicators of quality in the National Review of Asthma Deaths when reviewing the care received by those who died.

"Not receiving a review was identified as a possible contributing factor to many of the deaths, and a number of the report's recommendations indicated that GPs and secondary care providers must improve the quality and frequency of asthma reviews. It really is imperative that everyone has a review to reduce their risk of an attack."