A coroner has warned a 'lack of national leadership' could lead to the deaths of more allergy sufferers after a 17-year-old aspiring doctor tragically died from anaphylaxis.
Heidi Connor has urgently called for the UK government to create a new role within the NHS in a bid to prevent further deaths.
She has written to the government citing three recent cases where people had died from anaphylaxis, stating the 'tragic' case of Alexandra Briess was 'not new territory'.
Mrs Connor is calling for the appointment of an allergies tsar and better funding and research into the condition as lives are at risk, the Mirror reports.
The Berkshire coroner's warning comes after an inquest into the death of 'bright and well loved' Alexandra, who died from a reaction to a common anaesthetic.
The teenager had undergone a routine procedure to remove her tonsils with the NHS in Reading, Berkshire, but suffered an 'unpredictable' fatal anaphylactic reaction to Rocuronium.
Alexandra, who planned to study medicine herself and volunteered at a children's charity, had never been given the drug before and suffered a 'sudden deterioration and cardiac arrest'.
Mrs Connor has now written to Health Secretary Steve Barclay, the NHS, and allergy organisations following Alexandra's inquest to demand change.
Allergy charities in the UK have previously warned the field that is notoriously under-funded and have long been calling for more funding to conduct research.
Mrs Connor has requested a new NHS role to tackle the issue and has called for a designated leader to oversee and coordinate funding and research at a national level.
Currently, the organisations are already in place and show 'goodwill' to understanding allergies, but they need to be 'joined up' and work together.
If not, more people are at risk of deaths, Mrs Connor writes in her Prevention of Future Deaths report.
She said: "The only way to improve understanding and prevent or reduce future deaths is to gather information nationally and fund appropriate research.
"Appropriate organisations already exist, and there is a lot of goodwill towards improving understanding in this area. It does however require national leadership and 'joining up' of these organisations.
"There is significant goodwill and desire to improve amongst numerous organisations involved in anaphylaxis work.
"What is lacking is national leadership and funding. In my view, consideration should be given to creating a leadership role and responsibility within NHS England to coordinate a national approach."
Charities have been calling for fatal reactions to be referred to the UK Fatal Anaphylaxis Registry (UKFAR) and Mrs Connor agreed this should be mandatory.
She said UKFAR, which is happy to take on the task, can then distribute information between relevant organisations.
The process of information sharing should be prioritised, she said.
She added: "Gathering data and using this to research and reduce the risk of future deaths requires funding, and this should be reviewed."
In her report, Mrs Connor cited three cases in which three Brits died from allergies and coroners raised similar concerns.
Mum Celia Marsh, 42, died after eating a 'vegan' Pret A Manger wrap with milk in it while teenager Shante Turay-Thomas, 18, died after eating hazelnut at her family home.
And 14-year-old Ruben Bousquet died after eating popcorn contaminated with milk at a cinema.
In all three cases, their coroners warned there needs to be more funding to stop allergy deaths.
"This is not new territory," Mrs Connor said.
An inquest into Alexandra's death heard she was given Rocuronium and died at Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading on May 31, 2021.
She had a routine and uneventful tonsillectomy one week before but required further surgery on May 30 due to post-surgery bleeding.
She suffered the reaction during anaesthesia and could not be saved.
Devastated friends fondly remembered her as a beautiful' girl who was a 'loyal and loving friend with a great sense of fun' as they raised almost £9,000 following her death.
Alexandra leaves behind her retired doctor father, David, and mother Tanya who is a GP practice nurse.
The family, who live in a £1.5 million home in Henley-On-Thames, Oxfordshire, did not wish to comment.
The parents of Brit Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who died aged 15 in 2016 after suffering a severe allergic reaction to sesame in a baguette from Pret A Manger onboard a flight to France, have campaigned for better allergy policies since their daughter's death.
Tanya Ednan-Laperouse OBE, co-founder of The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, said: "Our hearts go out to the family of Alexandra.
"Their tragic loss once again sheds a powerful light on the growing numbers of young people killed by anaphylaxis.
"Alexandra's coroner, like those at the inquests into Shante Turay-Thomas, Celia Marsh, Ruben Bousquet and many others, has called for urgent actions that should and must be taken by the government.
"We have long campaigned for ministers to appoint an Allergy Tsar to champion the plight of people living with allergies and for a proper national register of fatal and near fatal anaphylaxis cases.
"As Alexandra's coroner bluntly points out: 'This is not new territory'. Yet still there is no-one in charge of allergy in this country.
"We are, frankly, fed up with the delay and obfuscation by ministers.
"The government has the power to help prevent other families suffering such terrible grief.
"Ministers need to do the right thing and urgently."
Under the terms of the coroner's report, Mr Barclay has until June 2, to respond.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
