News, blogs & videos

by Catherine Sutton, Director, Airborne Allergy Action Catherine Sutton, mum to Edward, who has severe allergies and asthma, explains the recommendations of the recent Royal College of Paediatrics Report into Indoor Air Quality and Child Health and new NICE guidelines on Indoor Air Quality and their relevance to asthma prevention.  In January 2020 the Royal […]

by Tori Hadaway, Community Children’s Specialist Asthma Nurse Schools are a great way to provide group education about asthma and allergy; they form a safe, local environment where children and young people (CYP) are geared to learn important lessons.  What better space to improve knowledge and awareness, empowering them to take responsibility for their own […]

by Dr Stephen Goldring, Consultant Paediatrician, Director of Clinical Studies, The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Our first tentative meetings to establish the NWL asthma network were back in Autumn 2019, with a group of enthusiasts thinking about how to get everyone together and get started.   We entered the embryonic,  ‘forming’ stage, and had a […]

by Hannah Harniess For the last 6 months, our son has been shielded due to falling into the extremely clinically vulnerable category. For so many people who have been in this category, it has felt lonely and worrying at times. The virus was much less understood in March, but we now know that children have […]

by Tori Hadaway, Community Children’s Specialist Asthma Nurse The Tower Hamlets Network Incentive Scheme (NIS) challenged GPs to compare their data with that of other practices, aiming to improve standards of care for CYP with wheeze and asthma. What did they do? Each GP practice searched their database for children prescribed asthma treatments. Children were […]

by Dan Devitt, Children’s Commissioner In memory of Sophie Holman and with thanks to all those who are working to prevent deaths from asthma in London. Introduction From June 2019 to June 2020 I had the privilege of serving as a commissioner in the Barnet Havering & Redbridge (BHR) component of the new East London […]

by Jo Lawson, Asthma Senior Clinical Nurse Specialist We have been living in very unfamiliar times at the moment and like the rest of the country, we have had to adapt the way we work to protect everyone around us. Since March most children have been homeschooled and kept socially distanced. This has led to […]

by Sarah Kavanagh Like everyone in the NHS, our team has faced new challenges as a result of COVID-19. We usually only run face-to-face clinics, but since March have had to change to virtual reviews. This is something which we had discussed trying previously, but were unsure whether it would work in practice – would […]

by Charlotte Wells, Specialist Paediatric Respiratory Physiotherapist, Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust You may have seen a physio if you have had a bad back, after an operation or if you injured yourself playing sports……but have you heard of physiotherapy for your breathing? How we breathe can change during life, particularly in teenagers […]

by Sam Rostom, North Central London, Children and Young People’s Programme Director How can you fix something… if you don’t know what the problem looks like? Asthma affects a large number of children and young people in north-central London (NCL) and nationally. Approximately three people in every classroom have asthma, and it is the most […]