Asthma sufferers face an "unacceptable" postcode lottery when it comes to essential services, a charity has said.
A report by Asthma UK to mark World Asthma Day found "disturbing" differences in emergency admissions for children across the country, with those in the North West at greatest risk.
Liverpool Primary Care Trust (PCT), with the highest number of child emergency admissions, dealt with eight times as many cases as Richmond & Twickenham PCT, which had the lowest number of admissions.
The charity said the figures demonstrated a link between high levels of emergency admissions and low levels of service.
The Wish You Were Here? report called for a National Service Framework for asthma to be put in place as soon as possible to outline consistent standards of service.
Chief Executive Neil Churchill said: "This report paints a disturbing picture of the impact of asthma on children's lives, suggesting that not all children are getting the same access to vital asthma services, such as a local specialist asthma nurse.
"These divisions are unacceptable, particularly the staggering eight fold difference in admissions in England.
"If asthma is not controlled effectively, the effects can be devastating and in some cases fatal, which is why reducing the hospital admissions of people with asthma is a key aim for Asthma UK.
"Our campaign must act as a wake-up call to health services and governments about the costs and consequences of unnecessary hospital admissions."
From April 2006 to March 2007 there were 80,593 hospital admissions for people suffering asthma attacks across the UK, costing the NHS about £61 million. More than 40% of the admissions were for children under 15.
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