Around one person dies every week in Ireland from asthma, yet 90% of these deaths are preventable. Furthermore asthma-related illness is costing the economy over €501 million every year, the Asthma Society of Ireland (ASI) has said.

It has just launched a major report, The Case For Change: Implementing the National Clinical Programme for Asthma, which if followed by the Government, could significantly reduce this €501 million annual bill and provide a better quality of life for the 470,000 people in Ireland currently affected by this condition.

Around 60% of people with asthma in Ireland are considered to have poor control of the condition.

The HSE's National Asthma Programme (NAP) states that everybody with asthma in Ireland ‘should reach their maximum health and quality of life potential through the prevention, early detection and effective treatment of asthma'.

The ASI insists that if this programme was properly implemented, lives and money could be saved.

Its report estimates that some 1.4 million work days are missed every year as a result of asthma-related illnesses - this costs the economy almost €195 million annually. Meanwhile the parents of children with asthma lose over €67 million in earnings due to them having to take time off work to look after their children.

Overall, asthma-related illnesses cost the State over €501 million per year, €262 million of which is due to lost productivity from asthma-related absences.

However, The Case for Change argues that enrolling asthma patients in a structured asthma programme could significantly improve their health. It points to the success of similar programmes in Finland and Australia, both of which have recorded major reductions in healthcare costs and seen an improvement in the health of people with asthma.

"Both countries implemented structured, guideline-based programmes and developed action plans, which included regular structured asthma reviews for patients in primary care and a focus on patient empowerment, education and guided self-management," the ASI said.

In Finland, hospital bed days fell by 86% and there are now very few deaths from asthma. In Australia, asthma deaths fell by 60%, and asthma-related hospitalisation fell by 32% in adults and 47% in children.

The ASI believes that through the implementation of the NAP, the number of hospital visits would fall in Ireland - both emergency department (ED) visits and inpatient admissions. Currently, around 20,000 attendances to EDs every year are due to asthma.

"This would be achieved with an initial budget allocation for the enrolment of the most severe patients (25,000 people), together with the appointment of respiratory clinical nurse specialists to roll out the programme," the ASI said.

According to ASI chief executive, Sharon Cosgrove, asthma patients in Ireland ‘are calling our for better health services'. She said that the ASI hears the concerns of patients ‘on a daily basis'.

"Only 7% of the patients to whom we provide asthma clinic and Adviceline services have an asthma management plan in place - a basic tool to keep symptoms at bay and to help track medication. Furthermore 35% of those attending our clinics have had an asthma attack in the last year," she noted.

However, she insisted that with the right treatment and education, ‘asthma is a disease which can be managed, with the patient taking a pivotal role in their own asthma control'.

"We are aware of the growing financial pressures on the health system, but asthma is costing the state half a billion euro a year and this need not be the case. Our business case shows that with modest investment, a collaborative approach and a commitment to implementation, the NAP can reduce asthma deaths and achieve a reduction in asthma symptoms and asthma attacks.

"This will greatly improve the health and wellbeing and quality of life of people with asthma, while taking pressure off our hospitals and reducing the cost of asthma care. We know this works from the experience in Finland and Australia,' Ms Cosgrove said.

The Case for Change suggests an initial investment of €2.5 million this year for the first phase of the NAP. However this would lead to better control of asthma symptoms, a better quality of life for those affected and less pressure on health services, the ASI claimed.

For more information on asthma, see our Asthma Clinic, which was developed in association with the ASI, here