"Very poor asthma care"

Over the past year my asthma symptoms have become much more serious.

Despite consulting many different doctors in the health centre about persistant, violent coughing over the years, it took intervention by a local pharmacist for me to be seen by an experienced doctor on an emergency basis and properly diagnosed.

Last summer I was diagnosed and put on prednisalone as an emergency measure, but since then my asthma has been causing me increasing problems and is not properly managed.

There is no consistency of care at this surgery, and no possibility of it.

The doctors who are full partners seem to work part time at hours that suit their family life, and available appointments are always with locums who may not even understand the oractice computer system, let alone have a broad experience of difference types of asthma.

It's like being treated in the production line of a factory.

Attending appointments usually means being given repeated routine tests that have already been tested and established nothing, and then having something read off the internet that is below basic asthma information - waste of time.

It would be a less wasteful use of resources to have an occasional review with an asthma practitioner who has a breadth of experience (like the service provided by Asthma UK).

The current lack of knowledge is embarassing.

Given the deterioration of local A&E services, and since I don't own a car - it is difficult to know where to go when in an asthma crisis.

It is also difficult to make long-term decisions about self-care.

I honestly think that the service provided by this practice has allowed my occasional asthma to become a chronic problem.