ASTHMA AND THE HEALTH OF THE NATION

That this House notes that three million people in the United Kingdom have asthma, which kills one person every four hours and hospitalises over 155 children daily; recognises that 80 per cent. of the 2,000 deaths which occur annually are preventable and is dismayed that, despite its increasing prevalence and huge public concern, asthma remains outside the key health strategies in the United Kingdom; and calls on the Secretary of State for Health to include asthma as a key area in the Health of the Nation which would enable specific targets to be set for asthma treatment and monitoring, thereby following the excellent example set by the Welsh Office which, in 1992, set targets for a reduction in the rates of mortality and hospital admissions.