Improving standards of asthma management in a prison setting

Asthma causes 1,200 deaths in the UK annually but, with good education and management, two-thirds of these are preventable. Asthma management aims to leave patients symptom free and able to lead a normal, active life. An Asthma UK national survey showed 81% of responders had poor symptom control and many had not been given basic asthma reviews, personal asthma action plans or had their inhaler technique checked. This article describes improvements in the care and management of prisoners with asthma that has lessons for improving asthma care in other healthcare settings.