§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what studies his Department has(a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the under-diagnosis of asthma with particular reference to schools since 1989; and if he will make a statement on the diagnosis of asthma. [38314]
§ Mr. SackvilleThe Department has not commissioned or evaluated any studies specifically on under-diagnosis of asthma. Diagnosis is a matter of professional judgment. However, we are concerned about the burden which results from asthma and its increasing incidence, particularly in children. We shall continue to work with the medical profession, the Department of the Environment, the National Asthma Campaign and other interested parties to improve our knowledge of the causes of asthma and to make life as normal as possible for those who suffer.
§ Mr. CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to undertake a comprehensive review of the causes and effects of asthma; and if he will make it his policy to create a unified national strategy to combat asthma, involving his Department and other interested bodies. [38315]
§ Mr. SackvilleThe Government already support an extensive programme of asthma research, particularly through the Medical Research Council, which receives its grant in aid from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.
In 1992, the Department of Health asked the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants to advise on the possible links between outdoor air pollution and asthma. Its report "Asthma and Outdoor Air Pollution" was published on 19 October 1995, and copies have been placed in the Library. In addition, the Departments of Health and of the Environment, in collaboration with the Institute for Environment and Health and the National Asthma Campaign, are organising an important conference on the possible causes and successful management of asthma, to be held on 23 November 1995.
676WA wide-ranging review of the available information on the causes and effects of asthma, entitled "Asthma—An Epidemiological Overview", was published by the Department of Health in March 1995, a copy of which is available in the Library. Under the chronic disease management programme, introduced by the Department of Health in July 1993, over 90 per cent. of general practitioners are providing organised programmes of care for people with asthma.