§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will take steps to ensure that within every general practice in Wales there is either a nurse or a doctor who has been specifically trained to deal with asthma; and if he will issue guidelines to general practitioners regarding the need for regular monitoring of treatment of asthma patients.
§ Mr. Nicholas BennettThe general education and vocational training of a general medical practitioner encompasses training in the management of asthma, including an awareness of when referral for specialist opinion and help is needed. Screening for asthma may be recognised as appropriate for health promotion clinics in general practice, and family health service authorities are empowered to pay for these if they are satisfied with the protocol provided.
Instruction in the caring for patients suffering with asthma is an integral part of the education of nurses caring for patients suffering with respiratory disease. In the practice environment, in-service training and clinical updating is available for nurses as part of planned professional development. To specify more narrowly the exact type of service that is provided within each practice is neither desirable nor practical. The monitoring of patients who suffer from asthma is primarily a matter for the clinical judgment of the doctor.
§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will issue guidelines to every school in Wales giving specific advice to teachers on how to deal with children suffering from asthma, in order to safeguard the well-being of asthma sufferers and to minimise the loss of school time on account of asthma.
§ Mr. Nicholas BennettSuch advice should be provided locally by principal school medical officers in their role as 369W advisers to the local education authority. If the hon. Gentleman has any particular concerns in this matter I should be happy to discuss them with him.