One in three Brits now have an allergy – but GPs still ‘not trained’ in them

Surging allergy rates mean 39% of children and 30% of adults are now allergic to something – but charities warn most GPs begin careers with no allergy training

A third of Brits now suffer from allergies amid a warning that GPs are not trained to deal with them.

Rates have surged in recent decades and a new National Allergy Strategy warns that the UK has some of the highest in the world. Charities say that despite this most GPs begin their careers with no allergy training, even though 8% of consultations are now allergy-related.

Groups including Allergy UK and the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology created the strategy as 39% of children and 30% of adults are now allergic to something.

Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, 15, died in 2016 after eating a Pret baguette containing sesame.

Her mum Tanya, founder and trustee of the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, said: “Allergy care is currently too poorly – and sometimes dangerously – managed in the NHS. There is a postcode lottery of care, insufficient numbers of allergy doctors, long waiting times for allergy testing and service gaps. The allergy community has come together to develop solutions.”

It comes as a report shows hay fever sufferers now endure symptoms for up to two weeks longer than they would have done in the 1990s.

A review published in the prestigious Lancet medical journal shows climate change is shifting the flowering season of plants that release allergenic pollen.

Hay fever occurs when a person is allergic to pollen from trees, grass and weeds. Symptoms are usually worse when the weather is warm, humid and windy – when the pollen count is at its highest – which is usually between late March and September.

The reasons allergies are increasing is poorly understood but could be linked to modern diets and environmental toxins.

In the new strategy, goals include for all four UK Governments to recognise allergic disease as a major long-term condition requiring national action.

Another is for the NHS to “treat allergic disease as a core long-term condition and plan services accordingly”. This includes aiding GPs in areas such as diagnostic testing and clear criteria for referring patients.

Simone Miles, chief executive officer of Allergy UK, said: “The gulf in allergy care is the result of years of policy neglect and can be fixed with policy solutions. After so many years of calls to action, this strategy establishes a clear path towards a better future for the allergic community.”

Campaigners are also working on Owen’s Law, which would require written allergen information at the point of ordering across food outlets. It is named after a Sussex teenager who died following an allergic reaction to food he ate at a burger bar. Other actions in the strategy include on food labelling and greater awareness of allergy in workplaces.

In March, the Government announced that schools in England must provide allergy awareness training for all staff. Spare adrenaline auto-injectors must also be stocked by schools for emergencies in children who have no diagnosed allergy.

It came after campaigns for Benedict’s Law in memory of five-year-old Benedict Blythe, from Stamford in Lincolnshire, who died from an anaphylactic reaction at school in December 2021.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We know allergies can impact sufferers’ day-to-day lives and that for some, they can be very dangerous. We are committed to improving care for people with allergies and that is why we are working with a range of partners and experts, including members of the National Allergy Strategy group, to consider how allergy care and support could be improved, including considering the recommendations in the National Allergy Strategy.”