Lancashire to host UK's first asthma bus
Last updated 28th Sep 2021
The UK's first 'asthma bus' is opening today at Chorley House.
It's hoped the PRECISION Asthma Mobile Clinic will bolster efforts to see as many patients with asthma as possible and reduce the pressure on the NHS's respiratory services as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It'll spend 6 weeks at Lancashire's Enterprise Business Park in Leyland and move to Preston Healthport in 6 weeks time.
It's estimated that someone with asthma suffers an attack every 10 seconds on average across the UK and three people die as a result every day.
In Lancashire alone, around 6% of people across NHS Central Lancashire CCGs suffer from the breathing condition.
Our county also has a higher level of asthma prevalence compared to the national average for England.
A report by Asthma UK found that basic asthma care levels in 2020 dropped for the first time in eight years.i In fact, approximately 3.53 million of the 5.4 million people diagnosed with asthma in the UK are still not receiving a ‘basic level of care’.
In a partnership between Central Lancashire CCGs, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, PRECISION/AstraZeneca and the North West Innovation Agency, the PRECISION Asthma Mobile Clinic will assist the team at The Airways Asthma Clinic to ensure people with asthma get the care they need.
Three rooms on PRECISION Asthma Mobile Clinic will be offered to Primary Care Networks to support the diagnosis of respiratory conditions through the restarting of spirometry testing, delivered at the Clinic.