Asthma care is at a standstill, charity warns as grieving family calls for awareness

Asthma care is at a “standstill”, a leading charity has warned after a grieving mother called for greater awareness of the condition following the death of her son.

Ten-year-old Warren Dowling died suddenly after a day of feeling ‘fine’ at school and playing on the trampoline with his younger brother.

But his mother described how after playing outside he would ask for his inhaler, but then quickly turn blue and stop breathing.

Belinda Dowling, from Portsmouth, wants more to be done to raise awareness of the seriousness of the condition and says there has “never been enough awareness about asthma”.

It comes as Asthma and Lung UK warned that ‘little has been done’ in ten years since a landmark report on asthma, which set out how the majority of asthma deaths are preventable and what steps can be taken to tackle them help prevent deaths.

The charity said more than 12,000 people in Britain have died from asthma attacks since the publication of the National Review of Asthma Deaths report.

It says that “shockingly little has changed” since the report was published and that “asthma care is at a standstill”.

Warren, one of seven siblings, died in March last year.

“They say your life can change in the blink of an eye, but we didn’t know how true that was,” Ms Dowling said.

‘Warren usually managed fine with his asthma, but once or twice a year he would have a really bad asthma attack and have to go to hospital, which was scary.

‘Then one evening last March, after having been fine at school all day and happily playing on the trampoline with his little brother Cameron, he came to me and said he needed his inhaler. It didn’t seem to work and he started to panic. While I was on the phone for an ambulance, he turned blue and stopped breathing.

“His father performed CPR until the ambulance arrived and took him to hospital, but there was nothing they could do to save him.

“Warren was always so happy with a cheeky smile on his face even when he was criticized – a real character. His siblings have all dealt with it in different ways, it comes up at random times. Seven-year-old Cameron recently asked me why Warren didn’t come back to play with him on the trampoline even though he promised he would.

“There has never been enough awareness about asthma. I want everyone to know how serious asthma is and that no one else has to go through what we went through. I know Warren would be thrilled if his story could help others.”

The comments come as Asthma and Lung UK called for greater efforts to prevent asthma deaths, including: the introduction of national targets; specific funding to ensure that healthcare services can deliver basic care and investment in technology to help people manage their condition.

Sarah MacFadyen, head of policy and external affairs for Asthma and Lung UK, said: “It is outrageous that ten years after the report’s recommendations to improve asthma care, four people are still dying unnecessarily from the condition every day.

“Asthma care is in crisis. People are not getting the care they need and deserve. As a result, Britain still has one of the highest asthma death rates in Europe.

“We don’t want to say the same thing in ten years’ time; this is a problem we know how to solve.

“With better care and support, people with asthma could manage their condition well and avoid life-threatening asthma attacks, while investment in research and innovation to develop technology to help people manage their asthma themselves could be just as transformative as This is the case for conditions such as diabetes.

“Not only will these changes save lives and improve people’s health and quality of life, it will also reduce the impact of poorly controlled asthma on the healthcare system and help the NHS.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “We are working to improve services for people with chronic conditions such as asthma, so they can live longer, healthier lives.

“The NHS has launched a ground-breaking lung health screening program that will detect and treat more lung conditions, and has set up 13 dedicated clinical networks to improve lung services across the country.

“We are also investigating chronic respiratory conditions, including asthma, as part of our upcoming Serious Conditions Strategy, which will help ensure care is better focused on the patient.”