Background: Personalised Asthma Action Plans (PAAPs) are essential for asthma management, reducing severe attacks and hospital admissions. NICE guidelines mandate PAAP provision for asthma patients, as do Lewisham & Greenwich Trust guidelines. A staff survey at Lewisham’s Paediatric Emergency Department (PED) revealed inconsistent adherence to these standards.
Objectives: Our goal was to standardise PAAP provision in the PED at University Hospital Lewisham, ensuring that 100% of children with asthma receive a PAAP upon discharge by March 2025.
Method: Baseline data from September to mid-October 2024 was reviewed to assess PAAP distribution before interventions. Weekly data was plotted on a run chart. To improve PAAP usage, we targeted two groups: doctors and patients/families. The first cycle involved placing a reminder (“ASTHMA PLAN → GIVE + GO”) around PED workstations. The second cycle focused on empowering patients/families by displaying an e-poster in the waiting area, reinforcing the importance of a PAAP.
Results: Baseline data indicated that the percentage of children receiving a PAAP was inconsistent, fluctuating around a median of 33.3%. The first intervention showed partial improvement; however, the second intervention displayed a marked increase, reaching a peak of 100%. (graph)
Discussion: Our first intervention had a limited impact, suggesting that clinician awareness alone was insufficient to drive behavioural change. The second intervention was associated with significant improvement, highlighting that patient-driven recognition of PAAPs plays a key role in ensuring compliance. Continued efforts are needed to sustain progress with future work evaluating the impact of PAAPs on long-term asthmatic patient outcomes.
