HC Deb 06 May 2004 vol 420 cc1789-90W
Mr. Drew

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what strategies the Department ph ns to put in place to deal with an increased incidence of asthma. [170139]

Dr. Ladyman

A number of initiatives are underway in the national health service in England to improve services for patients with asthma. These includeThe national service framework (NSF) for children: asthma, as one of the most common childhood conditions, will be used as a key exemplar that will accompany the main NSF report. The chronic disease management programme provides arrangements for health promotion under the general practitioner contract including fixed annual payments for participating GPs, around 94 per cent. of the total, for running organised programmes of care for patients with asthma. The general medical services contract, launched in February 2003, includes a specific quality indicator for treatment and care of people with asthma.