Red tape is a threat for asthmatic kids

Children with asthma are being prevented from getting access to inhalers in British schools due to needless red tape, a charity warned.

Asthma UK said schools are prevented from keeping a spare blue reliever inhaler on their premises because they are prescription-only medicines.

But this puts children’s lives at risk when they have forgotten to bring their own inhaler to school or have run out, it said.

The charity is calling for a change in the rules to allow schools to keep inhalers in their first aid kits. Some 1.1 million children in the UK have asthma and just over 30,000 are admitted to hospital with the condition every year.

There are around 1,100 asthma deaths every year among both adults and children.

A small survey of more than 200 youngsters for Asthma UK found almost two-thirds have had an asthma attack at school.

One in five children said they find it “quite difficult” or “very difficult” to access their inhaler at school and 55 per cent do not always know where it is or how to get it.

Emily Humphreys, head of policy and public affairs at Asthma UK, said: “These medicines are very safe but going without them can be very dangerous, so it is crucial that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) changes the rules and allows schools to keep a spare inhaler as a last resort.

“The majority of children know to find a teacher if they don’t have their own inhaler when having an asthma attack at school but the reality is that there is very little that staff can legally do to help in this situation.

“This puts children at risk.”

The charity says the MHRA could provide an exemption to the regulations to allow schools across the UK to supply the inhalers.