Tragic Shropshire parents visit London to launch asthma campaign report
The Shropshire family of a woman who lost her life from an asthma attack travelled to Westminster to launch a report aimed at reducing the number of respiratory deaths in the UK.
Mother Karen and stepfather Nick Edwards, of Newport, lost daughter Sarah following an asthma attack when she was just 21 in 2012.
They have been campaigning alongside Asthma UK to raise awareness of the condition ever since and met with their Wrekin MP Mark Pritchard while in London to discuss what can be done to reduce deaths and improve asthma services.
Mr Edwards said: "On the night she died Sarah had been out with her friends. She suffered an attack after walking into town with a friend on a very cold night, then as she entered a warm bar the change in temperature caused a huge attack, and the ambulance did not get to her in time.
"We don't want any other parents to go through what we've been through – the Government needs to act now to stop people dying needlessly."
A report released on Thursday by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Respiratory Health has found that national prioritisation for respiratory health is still lacking, despite the desperate need to reduce the number of people dying needlessly.
Mr Pritchard said: "I was incredibly moved when I spoke to Karen and Nick; it is heart-breaking that they lost their daughter to asthma. I want to make sure that none of my other constituents lose a loved one in this way.
"This is why I back this report on respiratory health and will be calling on the Secretary of State to provide the national leadership needed to stop respiratory deaths."
Mrs Edwards said: "It was great to be able to speak to Mark directly about asthma. I've asked him to write to the Secretary of State for Health on my behalf to make sure that people with asthma and other respiratory conditions get the care they deserve and to stop other people losing loved ones to asthma."
Respiratory disease is the third biggest cause of death, killing around 80,000 people a year in the UK, and is responsible for around a million hospital admissions.
Kay Boycott, chief executive of Asthma UK, said: "Every 10 seconds someone is having a potentially life-threatening asthma attack and we urgently need leadership within the NHS to challenge the complacency about asthma and prevent these attacks. This is a wake up call to government and the NHS that they need to act, NOW, to stop people like Sarah dying from asthma."
