Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to monitor oral corticosteroid use by asthma patients who have not been able to access specialist respiratory services during the covid-19 outbreak.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence COVID-19 rapid guideline on severe asthma provides guidance on the use of oral corticosteroids and starting or continuing on biological treatments, which aim to minimise oral corticosteroid exposure, for people with severe asthma during the COVID-19 outbreak. The guideline is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng166