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Launched by the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation (NARF), the campaign includes a parliamentary petition and is backed by a series of video interviews with the mothers of two girls who died as a result of severe allergic reactions.

The campaign calls for an ‘Allergy Tsar’ to:

•  Act as a public champion to tackle the allergy epidemic now

•  Increase the number of specialist allergy clinics – one in every part of the country

•  Develop a National Register of Severe Allergic Reactions detailing all hospitalisations and fatalities, and a Near Misses Register of incidents.

•  Join up GP and hospital allergy services so that patients have a coherent NHS care pathway.

•  Train more specialist allergy doctors and consultants, and mandatory training in allergies for all GPs.

Allergic disease is at epidemic levels in the UK. One in three people now has an allergy with conditions ranging from food and drug allergies to asthma and eczema – and the numbers are rising.

The fact that no single person has overall responsibility for allergy services in the NHS or Department of Health was first raised by the coroner at the inquest into Shante Turay-Thomas, who died aged 18 from a severe reaction to a hazelnut in September 2018.

The coroner highlighted a string of human errors by NHS and ambulance staff, failures by her GPs and a lack of awareness and training of the management of allergies and anaphylaxis.

Professor Sir Stephen Holgate, a trustee of NARF and one of the world’s leading allergy researchers, said: “Allergies are at epidemic levels in the UK, with one in three people now affected by conditions ranging from food and drug allergies to asthma and eczema, many occurring together in the same individual. 

“Exactly what is causing the dramatic rise in allergies is unclear, however, with each disease the principle is the same - the body’s immune system reacts to a substance as through it is harmful, triggering a reaction.

“Despite this growing burden of disease, there has been little investment in NHS allergy services for the last 20 years. A shortage of allergy specialists and clinics and inadequate allergy training among GPs means many patients with allergies fail to get the care and support they need.

“Appointing an Allergy Tsar to act as a champion for people with allergies would be an important first step in addressing this unmet need.”

Between 1992 and 2012, there was a 615 per cent increase in hospital admissions for anaphylaxis in England and Wales, a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction mainly caused by food allergies. 

You can add your name to the petition by clicking on the link below:
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/589716