Your report claiming that “1 million people in the UK may have been wrongly diagnosed with asthma” (29 January) is unhelpful and, arguably, irresponsible. In reality, asthma diagnosis is complex, and many people who do have it may not show clear signs on clinical testing. Reporting otherwise means that millions of people with asthma who do need treatment have been left with uncertainty about their diagnosis and care. What is in no doubt is that care must improve. Only last year, the National Review of Asthma Deaths revealed shockingly that two-thirds of asthma deaths were preventable with routine care. This is supported by even more recent findings from Asthma UK, which revealed that eight out of 10 people in the UK are not receiving care that meets even the most basic clinical standards. Asthma is serious and the complacency that leads such to headlines has to stop.
Dr Robert Niven
Senior lecturer in respiratory medicine at the University Hospital of South Manchester
Dr Mark Levy
General practitioner with an interest in asthma
Ann-Louise Caress
Professor of nursing at the University of Manchester and University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust
Ashley Woodcock
Professor of respiratory medicine at the University of Manchester
Dr Angela Simpson
Professor of respiratory medicine at the University of Manchester
Monica Fletcher
Chief executive, Education for Health
• The letter above was amended on 5 February 2015. An earlier version misnamed Ashley Woodcock as Andrew Woodcock, as did the unedited version sent to the Guardian.
