NHS toils under weight of allergy sufferers

Wednesday, 25 June 2003 12:00 AM

The NHS is struggling to deal with the massive growth of allergy sufferers, according to the Royal College of Physicians.

It is estimated that one in three people in the UK suffers from such an ailment in one form or another, with one in 70 having a reaction to peanuts. Such a reaction can be potentially fatal.

Prescriptions for allergies cost the NHS some 800 million pounds per year.

The RCP said the provision in the NHS for the growing number of referrals was 'totally inadequate' and allergy specialists were in short supply.

Professor Stephen Holgate, chair of the working party set up to assess the run on resources, said the UK trailed most European countries and the US in terms of allergy services.

The RCP called on the Government to set up more allergy centres, run by full-time trained specialists, in the regions.

At present, the UK's 86 allergy clinics are run part-time by consultants, who are often experts in different medical areas, the report said.

It also said more consultant allergists ought to be appointed, with 32 to work in new regional centres, a move to ease the backlog of referrals at the district general hospital level.

Given the paucity of trained allergy specialists, the RCP recommended the education of GPs should be improved to deal with the crisis.

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