Asthma-related admissions to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital (KEMH) dropped again last year, according to asthma educator Liz Boden.

"The asthma admissions were reduced by five percent in the past year, showing that we are making great progress," she said.

Mrs. Boden explained the significance of the drop in the spring newsletter of Open Airways, a charity dedicated to asthma awareness and education.

"We lead the world having reduced admissions by a staggering 82 percent since our Island-wide asthma education started. Interestingly, asthma admissions have not been cut in the United States or UK in the last ten years!"

The asthma education programme started 15 years ago. There's been a drop in admissions to KEMH however Emergency Room visits continue to rise.

The number of visits increase by about 200 each year, Mrs. Boden said. Last year saw more than 1,800 an equal number of children and adults.

"Each visit to Emergency is a failure in management," she said. The nurse stressed that anyone experiencing symptoms more than twice a week needs to be better informed about their condition.

"We want everyone with asthma to have a personal action plan," she said.

Those in need of help can contact Open Airways, Debbie Barboza at KEMH or the Department of Health.

To subscribe to the Open Airways newsletter visit www.openairways.com.