PCRS calls for effective asthma risk stratification to prevent avoidable deaths and hospitalisations

United Kingdom, 8th October 2026

A new Primary Care Respiratory Society (PCRS) position statement urges primary care teams to proactively identify and support patients most at risk of severe asthma attacks.

PCRS has today published a new position statement calling for the systematic use of asthma risk stratification across primary care to help prevent avoidable asthma attacks, hospital admissions and deaths. The recommendations are outlined in the newly published Risk Stratification to Prevent Poor Asthma Outcomes position statement (downloadable below).

Despite asthma being a treatable condition, more than 7.2 million people in the UK live with asthma and too many continue to experience preventable harm.¹ The PCRS warns that significant gaps remain in the delivery of basic asthma care, including annual reviews, inhaler technique checks and the provision of personalised asthma action plans.

The new position statement sets out how primary care teams can identify patients who are at increased risk of severe asthma attacks, hospitalisation or death and ensure they receive timely, targeted interventions before their condition deteriorates. 

A proactive approach to reducing risk

PCRS is calling on GP practices, primary care teams and community pharmacists to move beyond reactive care and adopt a systematic, risk-stratified approach that identifies patients at medium and high-risk using evidence-based indicators such as:

• Poor symptom control
• Previous asthma attacks requiring oral corticosteroids
• High use of reliever inhalers (SABAs)
• Poor adherence to prescribed treatment
• Incorrect inhaler technique
• Type 2 inflammation (elevated eosinophils and FeNO)
• Low lung function
• Social and environmental factors that may increase risk

Under the PCRS recommendations, all people with asthma should continue to receive a comprehensive annual review, while those identified as being at greater risk should receive more frequent, proactive follow-up and support. 

Tackling inequalities in asthma outcomes

The position statement highlights the significant health inequalities that continue to affect asthma outcomes, particularly among people living in deprivation and other underserved communities. PCRS is urging healthcare providers to ensure risk stratification programmes are designed and implemented in ways that do not disadvantage people because of language barriers, digital exclusion, disability or socioeconomic circumstances. 

PCRS emphasises that patients must remain active partners in decision-making and should be provided with regular face to face reviews, as well as accessible personalised asthma action plans in formats that meet their individual needs. 

Key recommendations from PCRS

The PCRS position statement recommends that:

• Primary care teams systematically identify adults, young people and children at increased risk of asthma attacks.
• Individual with asthma receive face-to-face asthma reviews conducted by appropriately trained healthcare professionals.
• Inhaler technique, adherence and treatment choice are assessed and optimised at every review.
• Every flagged patient has an up-to-date personalised asthma action plan.
• Modifiable risk factors are actively identified and addressed.
• Health inequalities are explicitly considered within risk stratification approaches.
• Practices maintain coded risk registers, supported by electronic alerts and recall systems. 

Calls to action

PCRS is calling on:

• Primary care providers to embed asthma risk stratification into routine practice, maintain risk registers and prioritise timely reviews for patients identified as medium or high risk.
• Integrated Care Systems (ICSs), commissioners and respiratory networks to support practices with the tools, training, workforce capacity and digital infrastructure needed to deliver effective risk-stratified asthma care.
• Healthcare professionals to ensure all asthma reviews include assessment of inhaler technique, adherence, symptom control and personalised self-management support.
• Policymakers and healthcare leaders to prioritise asthma prevention strategies that reduce inequalities and improve access to evidence-based care.

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

• The Primary Care Respiratory Society UK (PCRS) is the UK’s leading and longest-established professional society dedicated to improving respiratory care in primary, community, and integrated care settings.
• PCRS educates and supports healthcare professionals working in primary and community settings by providing easy access to evidence-based clinical guidance and best practice resources on all aspects of common respiratory conditions seen in primary care.
• PCRS advocates and campaigns to inform and influence respiratory healthcare policy, and to set standards in the management of respiratory medicine in out-of-hospital settings. 
• PCRS promotes and disseminates real-life respiratory research as part of its policy and educational activities. 
• PCRS represents clinicians across primary and community care and works closely with NHS England and national programmes to support best practice.
• The full position statement is available below.

Contact: 01675 477600, Email info@pcrs-uk.org, Website: www.pcrs-uk.org