UK review of allergy services welcomed

A UK government review of services for allergy has been welcomed by Allergy Therapeutics, a specialist drug firm focused on allergy vaccination. The report by the Department of Health found that patients "can wait three to nine months for an appointment to see a consultant in secondary care." The firm believes that recognition of a problem must be backed up with "a program of action."

In a statement, Allergy Therapeutics noted the "almost total lack of specialist heath care infrastructure for allergy sufferers in the UK." One consequence of this, the firm says, is the absence of allergy vaccination, which is available in other European Union countries.

However, a spokesman for the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology told the BBC, the UK's public broadcaster: "the Department of Health recognizes that there is a problem, but fails to adequately address this and fails to make any recommendation that will ensure change."