National health target urged to reduce respiratory illness

Whanganui's child asthma rate is well above national average. Photo/File

The Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ are calling for Government action to introduce a national respiratory health target.

The organisation's plea comes after the latest findings from the University of Otago study into childhood respiratory illness and primary care.

The "Big Data" study found that respiratory conditions account for 46 per cent of all child GP consultations.

The Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ chief executive, Letitia O'Dwyer, said they were certainly not surprised by the findings of this retrospective study.

"The high primary care workload related to childhood respiratory illnesses reflects what is being reported back to the Foundation by nurses, GPs and specialists working in the trenches."

The study follows prior University of Otago research released in March that revealed that Whanganui has the highest number of asthma cases in New Zealand.

It also showed that it kills six people each year in the district and hospitalises more than 160.

Equally disturbing was that one in four Whanganui children suffer from asthma - way above the national average.

"The foundation is calling on the Government to take action and support a national health target that focuses on reducing emergency visits for acute respiratory illnesses by 20 per cent within the next five years," Ms O'Dwyer said.

Over 700,000 New Zealanders live with a respiratory condition, costing the country over $6 billion every year.

"Until respiratory illness is taken seriously, and there is a national target with funding behind it at the primary care and DHB level, we will not see significant change," Ms O'Dwyer said.

This September, the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ will run a national respiratory awareness campaign called Breathe Better September, to raise the profile of all respiratory conditions.