An analysis reveals a significant surge in working days lost to asthma and respiratory illnesses since the pandemic, with official UK figures showing a 153% increase from 2020 to 2022. The total working days lost escalated from 6.4 million in 2020 to 16.2 million in 2022. Concurrently, the percentage of working days lost to respiratory conditions grew from 5.5% to 8.7%. This shift indicates a rise in respiratory issues, possibly linked to long Covid, which affects almost two million individuals and impacts UK productivity.
Asthma + Lung UK highlighted shortcomings in respiratory care, condemning the UK’s approach to lung health. Their research points to the frequent need for emergency care due to poor initial treatment. Jonathan Blades, head of policy at the charity, attributed worsening health outcomes and recurrent hospital visits to inadequate care. Government data further underscore respiratory illnesses as the chief cause of short-term absences in the civil service, accounting for 24.1% of average working days lost in the current year.
Asthma + Lung UK’s chief executive, Sarah Sleet, emphasized the necessity of better diagnosis and treatment to alleviate the burden on individuals with lung conditions. She insisted on comprehensive, long-term prevention strategies to improve respiratory health and reduce emergency hospital visits.
This trend indicates that addressing respiratory health and improving care quality is crucial for reducing lost productivity and enhancing patient outcomes. These developments highlight the urgent need for better healthcare interventions to manage respiratory illnesses effectively.
