Children face 3-year delay for food allergy tests

Children with potentially fatal food allergies are waiting more than three years to be screened at the country’s only in-patient testing centre at Cork University Hospital.

Up to 5% of children under five suffer from a rare food allergy that can cause serious medical problems and poor quality of life, but there are very few services available to identify the hazard and manage the risk.

Only CUH and Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, Co Louth, provide hospital-based services for children, with limited services available in Dublin, Galway, and the Midlands.

Prof Jonathan O’B Hourihane, head of paediatrics and child health at University College Cork, chairs the Irish Food Allergy Network, a national organisation that wants to improve childhood allergy services.

Speaking in advance of the launch of IFAN in Dublin today, he said healthcare staff in the community were best-placed to identify, diagnose, and manage cases.

“Food allergy is a very common chronic condition in childhood. It causes great anxiety and distress, with many parents living in mortal fear of the next allergic reaction their child may have.

“The children we see are usually quite well, but they could be potentially very ill if they come in contact with an allergen,” he said.

The most prevalent food allergies are milk and eggs, and while most allergies go away when a child gets older, they should not ignored.

IFAN, a collaboration between healthcare staff, parents, and patient advocates, has found that the level of awareness of food allergy among healthcare staff in the community and in hospitals is low, with little or no education or training provided.

Prof Hourihane said healthcare staff, especially those working in the community, need more education, training, and support.

“Allergy aware consultants are needed in regional units, trained, resourced and equipped to manage cases, up to and including food challenge [in-patient testing].”

IFAN has developed guidelines for diagnosing and managing food allergies. They have been welcomed by Prof Alf Nicholson, paediatric clinical lead of the HSE’s National Paediatric and Neonatology Clinical programme.

IFAN will roll out an education programme for healthcare staff in September.

*www.ifan.ie