Respiratory organisations mark World Lung Day with call for action in next month\u2019s Budget announcement<\/p>\n
Increased investment in lung health is needed in next month\u2019s Budget announcement to address gaps in diagnosis, treatment and specialist services, leading respiratory organisations have said.<\/p>\n
In an event this week the groups highlighted deficiencies in access to timely diagnosis, standardised and evidence-based care and specialist services.<\/p>\n
They also called for sustained investment in respiratory research and disease registries, alongside action to address preventable risks to lung health, including air pollution, climate change and smoking.<\/p>\n
The event was organised by the Asthma Society of Ireland (ASI) and took place ahead of World Lung Day on Friday.<\/p>\n
\u201cRespiratory illness touches families in every community in Ireland, and too many patients are still not getting the care they require,\u201d said ASI CEO Eil\u00eds N\u00ed Chaithn\u00eda.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat need is especially clear as we move into winter. Cold weather, mould and infections make this a dangerous time for people with asthma, and the sharp rise in calls to our Adviceline shows just how many families are looking for trusted support.<\/p>\n
\u201cStanding together with our colleagues across the sector, we asked politicians to back real, practical change in Budget 2027 so that every patient can get the care they need.\u201d<\/p>\n
The event also involved the Irish Thoracic Society, the Cystic Fibrosis Registry of Ireland, COPD Support Ireland, Alpha-1 Foundation Ireland, the Climate and Health Alliance, the Tobacco Free Generation Alliance, Pulmonary Hypertension Ireland, and representatives from the Paediatric Severe Asthma Registry.<\/p>\n
A patient survey carried out in April by ASI found that 46 per cent of people feel asthma places a financial strain on their household. One-in-ten said their child had gone without their prescribed asthma medication during the previous three months because they could not afford it.<\/p>\n
To help address these costs, the charity is calling for the phased introduction of free Maintenance and Reliever Therapy (MART) inhalers, starting with children aged 12 to 17 at a cost of \u20ac12.1 million to the state. This would help tens of thousands of families access this treatment, recommended by Irish and international clinical guidelines.<\/p>\n
\u201cWorld Lung Day is an important opportunity to focus on the very real challenges facing people living with asthma and other respiratory conditions,\u201d said Fine Gael TD and Leas-Cathaoirleach of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health Colm Burke.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo child should have to go without prescribed medication because their family cannot afford it, and I believe the proposal to introduce free MART inhalers for young people aged 12 to 17 deserves serious consideration.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cWe also need continued investment in respiratory research, disease registries and services so that policy is informed by good evidence and patients can access the care they need. I welcome the respiratory organisations coming together to put these practical issues directly on the agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Respiratory organisations mark World Lung Day with call for action in next month\u2019s Budget announcement Increased investment in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":636494,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[22744,203538,38026,103,61,203540,60,75886,270358,270359],"class_list":["post-636493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-asthma","tag-asthma-society-of-ireland-asi","tag-cystic-fibrosis","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-inhalers","tag-ireland","tag-lung","tag-maintenance-and-reliever-therapy-mart-inhalers","tag-world-lung-day"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=636493"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636493\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/636494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=636493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=636493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=636493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}