An imperfect “PAST” Lessons learned from the National Review of Asthma Deaths (NRAD) UK

Asthma deaths are a barometer of the quality of asthma care. The principal care for patients with severe asthma is often a joint partnership between primary and secondary services. Communication between the two services determines the effectiveness of treatment. Undertaking an audit on asthma in either primary or separately in secondary care is a relatively straightforward process. However, when the audit spans both primary and secondary care in a country as large as the United Kingdom which is further sub-divided into the separate healthcare systems of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Island, then the audit becomes considerably more challenging. The National Review of Asthma Deaths (NRAD) reported in May 2014 was a confidential enquiry tasked with identifying circumstances surrounding asthma deaths across the whole of the UK, in order to ascertain avoidable factors and make recommendations to improve care and reduce future asthma deaths (Why asthma still kills: the National Review of Asthma Deaths (NRAD) Confidential Enquiry report, 2014, http://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/sites/default/files/why-asthma-still-kills-full-report.pdf). The idea for NRAD arose from a longstanding East of England confidential enquiry started in 1988 by Dr Brian Harrison and then handed onto me in 2001 until funding for the national review of asthma deaths was secured in 2010.