Referral to Asthma clinic

Hi everyone,

I'm brand new to this and need some advice from those who have been through it. My daughter is five and a couple of months ago was hospitalised after suffering a severe asthma attack. That was the first we knew she had it. Since then she has never seemed well. She's always coughing, has a wheezy chest, particularly at night. She gets breathless even just coming down the stairs, and frequently has a coughing fit if she does anything overly energetic, which is often given her age. She also has almost permanent purple circles under eyes, like big bruises, which I've been told is also a tell-tale symptom.

I took her back to the doctor about a month ago, who gave her a course of steroids and said she would refer us the our local Asthma clinic, but I was given no other information. On Hogmanay, I had to take her to NHS 24 out of hours as her breathing as gotten quite shallow again. We got another course of steroids and finally, some literature with some really good information.

Does anyone know how long it can take for a referral to come through, or should I chase it up sooner rather than later? I don't know if these symptoms are normal for asthma sufferers before they are properly treated, or something I should be worried about.

All advice gratefully received. Thanks if you made it to the end of this!! Sorry it's so long.

Jen x