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Asthma + Lung UK
Asthma and Lung UK
FormationJanuary 1, 2020; 4 years ago (2020-01-01)
Merger ofAsthma UK
British Lung Foundation
TypeCharitable organisation
Registration no.
  • England and Wales: 326730
  • Scotland: SC038415
  • Isle of Man: 1177
PurposeHealth policy
HeadquartersThe White Chapel Building, 10 Whitechapel High Street, London, E1 8QS
Coordinates51°30′52″N 0°04′22″W / 51.5145°N 0.0728°W / 51.5145; -0.0728
Patron
The Duchess of Gloucester
Key people
Sarah Sleet (CEO)
Tamara Ingram (Chair)
Professor Ian Hall (Vice Chair)
Revenue (2022/23)
£15 million[1]
Employees (2023)
300[1]
Volunteers (2023)
179[1]
Websitehttps://www.asthmaandlung.org.uk/
Formerly called
Asthma UK and British Lung Foundation Partnership

Asthma + Lung UK (formally Asthma and Lung UK) is a British charity based in London, England. It focuses on respiratory health, in particular asthma and lung disease.[2][3]

The organisation was formed in January 2020 as Asthma UK and the British Lung Foundation Partnership as a result of a merger between Asthma UK and the British Lung Foundation.[4][5] On 24 February 2022, the charity announced that the organisation had been renamed to Asthma and Lung UK.[6]

History

[edit]

Asthma UK was initially founded in 1927, under the name of the Asthma Research Council.[7] The first donation was used to pay for special asthma clinics at Guy's Hospital and Great Ormond Street Hospital. In 1989, the Council became the National Asthma Campaign, and in 2004, it changed its name to Asthma UK.

Meanwhile, the British Lung Foundation was established by Professor Sir Malcolm Green and a group of British lung specialists in 1984.[8]

In December 2019, Asthma UK and the British Lung Foundation announced that they had agreed to merge, to form Asthma UK and the British Lung Foundation Partnership. It was expected that the merged charity would save around £2 million a year in running costs compared to operating independently. Kay Boycott was appointed as the first chief executive of the partnership having been the incumbent chief executive of Asthma UK at the time of the merger.[4] The British Lung Foundation's records with the Charity Commission and Companies House were renamed and remain in use, while Asthma UK's records were left dormant.[3][9][10][11] On 24 February 2022, the charity announced that the organisation had been renamed to Asthma and Lung UK, styled as Asthma + Lung UK.[6]

Asthma + Lung UK appointed Sarah Sleet as its new chief executive officer in January 2024.[12] She replaced Sarah Woolnough, who had been in post for the previous three years.[13]

Research

[edit]

Asthma + Lung UK – and its previous incarnations – is known for the research it has been carrying out into asthma and lung disease for the past decades. It has informed a number of parliamentary debates on the issue.[14][15][16]

Since 2012, Asthma UK has conducted an annual survey of people with asthma,[17] looking into their experience of living with the condition and the care they receive.[18][19][20] The survey has been taken over and continued by Asthma + Lung UK since the merger with the British Lung Foundation.[21]

In 2014, Asthma UK founded the Centre for Applied Research in asthma at University of Edinburgh.[22] The Centre has been a regular participant in the Scottish Parliament's Cross-Party Group on Lung Health since its inception in 2021.[23][24]

The British Lung Foundation helped found the Taskforce for Lung Health in 2018,[25] which brought together representatives from over 40 organisations in the sector to make recommendations on how to improve care for lung disease in the UK. In 2020, the taskforce revealed that lung patients’ symptoms had improved during lockdown as a result of a drop in air pollution.[26] However in 2021, it warned that one fifth of lung disease patients had to wait more than a year for a prognosis, and risked dying before they were even diagnosed.[27]

In 2023, Asthma + Lung UK published research which suggested up to 750,000 people in England were being misdiagnosed with asthma, due to a lack of simple tests for common lung conditions.[28][29] The research claimed these misdiagnoses cost the government an estimated £132 million each year.

Research published by the charity in 2024 showed that while deaths from asthma attacks were up by a quarter since 2010, two thirds of asthma deaths were preventable.[30]

Funding

[edit]

In 2021-22, Asthma + Lung UK generated £13.9 million.[31] Of this amount, £5.1m came from legacies (37%), £4.3m from donations (31%), £1.4m from fundraising (10%), £1.3m from grants (9%), £0.5m from gifts in kind (4%), and £0.4m from its investment portfolio (3%).

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Asthma + Lung UK, registered charity no. 326730". Charity Commission for England and Wales.
  2. ^ "Who we are | Asthma + Lung UK". Asthma + Lung UK. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Asthma and Lung UK - Charity 326730". Charity Commission. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Asthma UK and the British Lung Foundation set to merge". Civil Society. 11 December 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  5. ^ "The history of lung health with Asthma UK and the British Lung Foundation". Asthma + Lung UK Blog. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Introducing Asthma + Lung UK: always fighting for your right to breathe". Asthma + Lung UK Blog. Archived from the original on 11 August 2024. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  7. ^ "How we began | Asthma UK". Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  8. ^ "Professor Sir Malcolm Green | The Academy of Medical Sciences". The Academy of Medical Sciences. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  9. ^ "ASTHMA UK - Charity 802364". Charity Commission. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  10. ^ "ASTHMA AND LUNG UK overview". Companies House. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  11. ^ "ASTHMA UK overview". Companies House. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  12. ^ Lepper, Joe (11 January 2024). "Asthma + Lung UK names next CEO - Charity Times". Charity Times. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  13. ^ Wait, Sam (7 August 2023). "Who's Moving: British Red Cross, Asthma + Lung UK, CIOF and more | Civil Society". Civil Society. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  14. ^ "Asthma - Hansard - UK Parliament". UK Parliament. 3 July 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  15. ^ "Asthma Outcomes - Hansard - UK Parliament". UK Parliament. 7 December 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  16. ^ "Debate pack: Improving asthma outcomes in the UK - UK Parliament" (PDF). UK Parliament. 3 December 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  17. ^ "Asthma Care in a Crisis: Annual Asthma Survey 2020" (PDF). Asthma + Lung UK. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  18. ^ "Asthma patients 'missing out on basic care' - BBC News". BBC News. 4 January 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  19. ^ "Asthma patients 'not receiving basic care' - BBC News". BBC News. 23 June 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  20. ^ "Asthma: Action needed on needless deaths, says charity - BBC News". BBC News. 24 April 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  21. ^ "Our asthma reports | Asthma + Lung UK". Asthma + Lung UK. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  22. ^ "Asthma UK research centre to be based in Edinburgh - BBC News". BBC News. 13 May 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  23. ^ "Annual Return 2021 to 2022 - Scottish Parliament" (PDF). Scottish Parliament. 17 June 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  24. ^ "Annual Return 2022 to 2023 - Scottish Parliament" (PDF). Scottish Parliament. 23 June 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  25. ^ "Taskforce: how we made the plan - Lung Taskforce". Taskforce for Lung Health. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  26. ^ Pickover, Ella (3 June 2020). "Lung patients' symptoms improve during lockdown, charity finds". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  27. ^ Roberts, Lizzie (6 July 2021). "Lung disease patients could die before diagnosis, warn charities". The Telegraph. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  28. ^ "GPs' lack of asthma testing is abysmal, charity says - BBC News". BBC News. 26 September 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  29. ^ Campbell, Denis (26 September 2023). "Thousands with breathing problems undiagnosed due to lack of tests in England". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  30. ^ Bagot, Martin (24 April 2024). "Boy, 10, died suddenly after 'feeling fine' as asthma attack deaths skyrocket by 25%". The Mirror. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  31. ^ "Asthma + Lung UK 2021-22 Annual Report and Financial Statements" (PDF). Asthma + Lung UK. 30 June 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
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