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A report on asthma deaths by the Royal College of Physicians has highlighted the potential for a more significant clinical role for pharmacists in asthma management.

Around 1,400 people in the UK die from asthma each year, and the standard of care received was €less than satisfactory€ in a quarter of those cases, according to the report. Asthma triggers had not been documented in more than half of the cases, and 57 per cent were not recorded as being under specialist supervision in the year before their death.

Alastair Buxton, head of NHS Services at PSNC, commented: €This report confirms many things that we already know €“ that too many people with asthma are not being adequately supported to manage their condition effectively and this can have fatal consequences; that more could be done to help people with asthma who have just been discharged from hospital; and that in some cases people with asthma whose prescriptions suggest they are struggling are not receiving the extra help they need.

€Mr Buxton highlighted a study on the Isle of Wight which showed that MURs designed to help asthma patients use inhalers correctly more than halved related hospital admissions over a three-month period.

The RCP report raised overuse of reliever inhalers as a cause for concern. Pharmacists should identify people with asthma who may need more help from their PMR, so they can offer them an MUR, said Mr Buxton. Pharmacies could also provide more support for asthmatics following discharge from hospital, but community pharmacy would need the cooperation of hospital colleagues to identify this group for a post-discharge MUR.

€We also believe that the government should build on the MUR service by expanding the support available to people with asthma, offering them an annual review at their community pharmacy, at a time convenient to them, with no need for an appointment. As we described in our Vision document published last year, this service would provide the patient with a review of their condition and its management that is in line with the NICE Quality Standard for asthma.€