Background: Many children and teenagers have asthma; a long-term lung condition causing wheezing and breathlessness. Severe asthma attacks may need hospital treatment and can be life-threatening. Two types of inhalers are used to treat asthma: relievers and preventers. Children using high numbers of reliever inhalers are more likely to have severe asthma attacks. It has therefore been recommended that these children should have an urgent check-up. This does not yet routinely happen.

Methods: General practices across the Wessex and Thames Valley regions will randomly be divided into two groups:

1. Practices offering enhanced asthma check-ups (intervention practices
2. Practices providing usual asthma care (control practices

Practices will be asked to identify children aged 1-17 years who have been prescribed 7 or more reliever inhalers in the past year. In intervention practices, these children will be invited for an asthma check-up. This will be undertaken by a specially trained general practice nurse. At the check-up, we will explore reasons for poor asthma control including symptom triggers, prescribed asthma treatment and whether treatments are taken as prescribed. We will also check children’s inhaler technique and provide families with an asthma action plan.