Asthma Society of Ireland Opening Statement

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The Asthma Adviceline has been in operation for over 20 years. It is open every Monday toFriday from 10am to 1pm and is staffed by specialist asthma nurses. Callers to the AsthmaAdviceline come from all age and socio-economic groups. Callers to the Asthma Advicelineinclude asthma sufferers, concerned family members, parents of newly diagnosed children,teachers and healthcare professionals.ASI Asthma Clinics are held in towns and cities throughout the country. For many asthmasufferers they are the first port of call to discuss their symptoms. Figures collected at the Clinicsshow disturbingly high levels of poor asthma control, lack of education about medication andinhaler technique, and few sufferers having an asthma management plan.‘Asthma Coach’, an asthma management iPhone App, was launched in November 2012. AsthmaCoach contains pollen alerts, management tools and emergency information, and feedback fromusers has been overwhelmingly positive so far. Asthma Coach was the number one health App inIreland on its release, and has been downloaded by more than 2,000 people to date.ASI interacts with patients on asthmasociety.ie, Facebook and Twitter. Each year ASI distributestens of thousands of information publications by post and online and runs several majorawareness campaigns on topics such as swine flu, hayfever, and vaccinations.ASI staff and nurses deliver information sessions on asthma in schools and community groupsthroughout Ireland, including a programme targeted specifically at disadvantaged groups such asprisoners and the travelling community.6
ASI’s services and resources for asthma sufferers and healthcare professionals fill a clear needwithin Irish society.ASI has worked with ICGP to develop Asthma Control in General Practice Guidelines which is thestandard by which all asthma patients must be treated in primary care.As part of the National Asthma Programme, ASI designed and provides a guideline based, onlineeducation programme for all healthcare professionals working with asthma patients in Ireland.There are currently 900 registered users.ASI also supports healthcare professionals by providing train the trainer programmes andfunding research bursaries.ASI designs, produces and delivers its services, literature, training and research extremely costeffectively and provides them entirely free of charge. ASI asthma information literature is usedby the HSE as the primary source of asthma information for patients and on their healthpromotion website. This level of free service provision is of obvious benefit to the patient butalso offers a massive saving to the HSE and Department of Health.ASI receives no statutory funding. Due to the economic decline in recent years and risingawareness about asthma, demand for ASI’s services is increasing at a steady pace.ASI is a small charity meeting an immense public health need for the largest chronic diseasepatient group in the country.7
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Asthma Society of Ireland Opening Statement

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