Campaigners have expressed alarm as new figures show that asthma care for children is getting patchier in England.
Discrepancies in children’s care across the country increased substantially at the end of the last decade, according to a new "atlas".
The atlas sets out differences in children’s care across the UK and was published by the Department of Health yesterday.
It shows that in some areas the rate of hospital admission for children with asthma is five times greater than in other areas. The figures for 2010 contrast with a four times rate recorded a year earlier.
The atlas shows the high admission rates – which may reflect problems with prevention and care – are concentrated in parts of the north-west and the West Midlands. The worst problems are found in Liverpool and Knowsley.
Emily Humphreys, of Asthma UK, said she was "disappointed" with the findings.
She said: "When it comes to asthma care there really is a postcode lottery in terms of how likely you are to end up in hospital, which is particularly worrying given that we estimate that about 75 per cent of asthma admissions could be avoided with better care and management.
"NHS organisations now need to ensure that they fully develop, implement and resource their plans for improving asthma care for children."
Dr Sheila Shribman, national clinical director for children, said: "Tackling unwarranted variation can help the NHS to provide better care, reduce waste and make sure that all children and young people get the best possible results from their care."
Health secretary Andrew Lansley said: "The challenge for the NHS is for every service to get to the level of the best. Local hospitals, services and commissioners will only know where they need to take action to improve services for their patients if they can see how other parts of the country are performing."
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