'Passport' helps asthma patients

A new pilot to help Guy’s and St Thomas’ asthma patients seek medical help in the event of an asthma attack has been launched.

An asthma passport, which will contain all of the patient’s clinical and personal information in a wallet sized card, is designed to help in the event of an asthma attack.

Asthma patients are at their most vulnerable when they are having an asthma attack, feeling completely out of control and are likely to avoid seeking medical help. During an attack patients can find it difficult to talk, so the passports are designed to provide clinical staff with the appropriate information.

The pilot, which is supported by The London Network for Nurses and Midwives and The Florence Nightingale Foundation Partnership, has been designed by patients with input from clinical staff. The passport is being tested among patients with very severe asthma patients who frequently use A&E.

“We hope the passport will save lives, and if successful, will be given to patients with less severe asthma,” said Karen Newell, respiratory clinical nurse specialist at Guy’s and St Thomas’.