|
It is a well known fact that the symptoms suffered by people diagnosed as having Asthma are often worsened by their living environment. Airborne particles such as smoke, pet hairs, dust and particularly dust mites and spores from mould caused by damp living conditions aggravate the airways and make it harder for Asthma sufferers to breathe. This leads to an increased use of preventative and relieving Asthma drugs in addition to the life threatening risk of major Asthma attacks often requiring a stay in hospital.
In 1999 an application was made to the Governments Health Action Zone fund to set up a project to identify the links between poor living conditions and children with asthma. The project was a partnership between the two most westerly District Councils of Cornwall, Kerrier and Penwith, the West Cornwall Primary Care Trust and Enact Energy, a private sector consultant specialising in domestic properties.
Building on the good work of the Beacon project, another Cornwall asthma project, the overall aim was to prove to Primary Care Trusts nationally that it would be in their interests to "prescribe" and pay for improvement measures in the home. The costs for the works would be recouped from reductions in health care costs of the asthmatic children in addition to the all important quality of life gains.
|
|
