The Asthma Society has officially launched their newly updated asthma E-Learning programme and new ‘Asthma Action Plan’. The E-Learning programme, ‘Care of Adults and Children with Asthma E-Learning Education Programme’ will help healthcare professionals increase their knowledge in asthma care, while the Asthma Action Plan will allow patients and healthcare professionals to work together to get the patient’s asthma under control.
The ‘Care of Adults and Children with Asthma- E-Learning Education Programme’ has been developed with clinical expertise from the National Clinical Programme for Asthma, patient and service user expertise from the Asthma Society of Ireland, healthcare delivery expertise from frontline staff and input from other stakeholders including ANAIL, Irish Thoracic Society and RCPI - to address key issues in asthma care. Healthcare professionals involved in the care of adults and children with asthma will be able to enhance their skills and gain a comprehensive understanding of international best practices of asthma care including: diagnosis, assessment, treatment and monitoring of adults and children with asthma.
The CEO of the Asthma Society of Ireland, Sarah O’Connor said: “In a survey conducted by the Asthma Society in Nov/Dec 2018, we discovered that 48% of people with asthma would not visit their GP after an asthma attack. Visiting your GP after an asthma attack is one of the most important things you should do and the fact that nearly half of people would not do this shows that people are not managing their asthma as well as they should. For me, the launch of our new Asthma Action Plan and E-Learning could not come at a better time. These materials will help to communicate best practice to all healthcare professionals and ensures that we are providing continuous professional development to them in relation to asthma management.
“The Asthma Action Plan, which was designed with a traffic light system in mind – is a patient friendly resource, aiming to reduce confusion and help users to recognise if their asthma is under control. Research shows that people who use their Asthma Action Plan are at less risk of an asthma attack and tend to miss fewer days from school or work on average. It is essential that everyone with asthma develop an Asthma Action Plan with their healthcare professional. If people would like some guidance with creating or implementing their Asthma Action Plan, free-phone out Asthma Adviceline on 1800 44 54 64 to speak to a special respiratory nurse.
The Working Group for the National Clinical Programme for Asthma have committed a huge amount of time to creating these resources, which we believe will be of huge assistance to patients and healthcare professionals alike.”
The HSE’s National Clinical Lead for Asthma, Prof Pat Manning said: “The Programme is extremely happy to deliver this education programme with the valued support from all our stakeholders. Not naming individuals and their efforts, I would like to thank everyone involved in the delivery of this initiative which will equip all staff with necessary tools to deliver best care to our patients and support their family and carers.”
An Asthma Action Plan is a document that contains all the information you need to keep you asthma under control. All children and adults with asthma should fill in an Asthma Action Plan with their GP or asthma nurse.
This Asthma Education Programme has been developed by the Asthma Society of Ireland and The HSE National Asthma Programme to provide the core knowledge needed by healthcare professionals to manage the care asthma patients receive in line with international best practice.
