'Asthma Patients Need More Support, Better Treatment'

An asthma patients’ concern group is calling on the government to provide better support and treatment for those suffering from the ailment.

The Hong Kong Asthma Management Concern Group said a study suggested more than 330,000 people in Hong Kong had asthma, but only around 20 percent had been diagnosed with the condition.

It said the Covid pandemic has made it more difficult for patients to have regular check-ups at outpatient clinics, which also didn't stock the best medication for their illness.

Dr Angus Lo is a specialist in respiratory medicine and a member of the concern group.

"A lot of general outpatient clinics have been closed up to become designated clinics to take care of Covid patients, so a lot of patients cannot go back to their original clinic to have follow-up, and they're just given a refill.

"As a lot of asthmatics are not given the proper treatment up to international standard right now because the drug pharmacy in the general outpatient clinic does not contain some combination drugs required by international asthma guidelines to start as the first time treatment, they simply don't have it," he said.