Asthma affects around 5.2 million people in the UK. There are more than 4.1 million GP consultations for asthma each year and every GP will see patients with respiratory symptoms who may have asthma, or have been diagnosed with asthma but continue to have ongoing problems.  Approximately 1,400 patients with asthma die each year in the UK, which equates to around one death every seven hours. Confidential enquiries into asthma deaths have repeatedly shown that patients and relatives often fail to appreciate the severity of symptoms, while clinical staff may fail to assess severity by objective measurements. Underuse of iv or oral steroids is also a common factor.