A children's asthma bus has won a top award after driving down hospital admissions in Slough.

Specialist nurses from the Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust which runs Slough's Wexham Park Hospital received the award at the glittering Nursing Times award ceremony at Grosvenor House in London's Park Lane on Thursday The team behind the bus which is funded by Slough Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), won the award in the Respiratory Nursing category.

The bus was first launched in 2016. It visits 16 secondary schools in the Slough area during two weeks in September, when hospital admissions among young asthma patients are historically high.

Children with respiratory conditions are invited aboard the bus to receive support and advice.

In 2016 the initiative helped 410 young asthma patients to better manage their condition. In 2017 that number rose to 559.

The bus service is led by respiratory nurse specialists Emma Bushell and Rosie Reading, who are both based at Wexham Park.

They were joined at the awards ceremony by hospital and CCG colleagues who together form the Slough Paediatric Asthma Service.

Miss Bushell said: “One in 11 children in the UK has asthma and in 2014 Slough had the highest hospital admission rate in England for the condition.

“Since its launch the children’s asthma bus has been really well received at each school it has visited. It has given hundreds of young people with asthma the tools and knowledge to better manage their condition, reducing their need to come into hospital for treatment.”

Sangeeta Saran, associate director of planned care and Slough operations for East Berkshire CCGs, said: “This is a brilliant achievement for the team and the initiative was very well received by the schools we worked with in Slough.”

The Children’s Asthma Bus team is already helping healthcare colleagues in other areas to set up similar services.