MANY of the 18,000 Limerick people who suffer from asthma are not availing of a free service that could give them a much better quality of life and even save their lives.
And the new chief executive of the Asthma Society of Ireland is now calling on them to avail of the society’s Adviceline service.
Speaking about Limerick’s calls to the free Adviceline service, Sarah O’Connor said: “18,443 people in Limerick have asthma and we are concerned that they are not availing of the free Adviceline service. We would love to receive more calls so that we can help people with asthma feel well, keep their asthma under control, and lead the fullest life, symptom-free.”
“The Advicline specialist nurse works through what to do in the event of an asthma attack, follows up an appointment with a family doctor or specialist to answer any questions, deals with what triggers may be setting off a person’s asthma, and helps people to self-manage their condition
“This really equips people with the information and skills to improve their health and users have provided extensive feedback that this has had a positive impact on their lives,” Ms O’Connor explained.
The Asthma Adviceline is available at 1800 44 54 64.
A recent partnership review undertaken jointly by the HSE and the Asthma Society of Ireland provided evidence that the service has an impact for people with asthma or parents of children with asthma, helping them to manage the condition to better effect.
Commenting on the partnership, Shirley Keane from the HSE said: “Children miss an average of ten days at school each year due to asthma. Our research shows that the Adviceline service helps 70 per cent of callers aged 50 years and under, avoid missing school or work due to their asthma.”.
Callers can avail of the service by calling the free phone number between 09:00 and 17:00 Monday to Friday. A call-back appointment with an experienced respiratory nurse specialist will be scheduled for a time and day that suits each individual caller.
“Asthma is a long-term illness which can be complex and the advice and support offered by a specialist nurse can inspire confidence in the message of self-management and reassure callers or families of people living with these lifelong chronic conditions,” Ms O’Connor concluded.
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