Allergy deaths: London mothers renew plea for government tsar

Two mothers have renewed calls for a government allergy tsar following their daughters' deaths from severe allergic reactions.

In a letter to Health Secretary Steve Barclay, Tanya Ednan-Laperouse and Emma Turay, from London, said the deaths were "entirely preventable".

Their letter follows other approaches to ministers that received no response.

The government said advice and leadership on allergies was already provided by a clinical reference group.

MPs are set to debate two allergy petitions on Monday, including one calling for the introduction of an allergy tsar.

In the letter, Mrs Ednan-Laperouse, from Fulham in west London, and Ms Turay, from Wood Green in north London, tell Mr Barclay: "As mothers, we have come together for change so that our tragedies never happen again.

"There are no clear lines of accountability in relation to overall NHS provision of allergy care, nor for the many other areas where policy change is required.

"This lack of national leadership has been raised time and again by coroners at the inquests of those who died following severe allergic reactions."

Ms Turay explained the issue was raised at the inquest into the death of her daughter, Shante.

"The coroner highlighted the fact that 'there is no person with named accountability for allergy services and allergy provision at NHS England or the Department of Health as a whole'," she said.

"The coroner stated: 'There is a risk that future deaths will occur unless action is taken'."

Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, 15, died in July 2016 following a severe allergic reaction to a baguette sandwich containing sesame.

After her death, the law was changed to require all food outlets to provide a full ingredients list and allergy labelling on food pre-packaged for direct sale.

Shante Turay-Thomas, 18, died following a severe allergic reaction to eating a hazelnut and a coroner ruled she died in part because of human error, with failures meaning that an ambulance took more than 40 minutes to arrive.

The parents told Mr Barclay a tsar would act as an advocate to increase the number of specialist allergy clinics and "to better align primary care and hospital allergy services so that patients have a coherent NHS care pathway".

They went on to say the tsar could also make sure acute anaphylaxis cases are treated as the most urgent incidents by NHS ambulance services.

The National Allergy Strategy Group and charities Allergy UK and Anaphylaxis UK have also supported their plea.

A government spokesperson said: "We have taken action to address the challenges people with allergies face, by introducing a new legal requirement for food retailers and operators to display full ingredient and allergen labelling information on every food item they sell pre-packed for direct sale.

"Clinical advice and leadership on food allergies is provided by the clinical reference group for specialised allergy and immunology services, led by NHS England."

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