A new allergy screening service is set to become available through pharmacies.
Allergy UK is launching the service to help the estimated 20 million people in the UK who will suffer from an allergy at some point in their life.
The charity says it is often very difficult for sufferers to get the advice they need in order to discover what they are allergic to and how they can avoid the problem.
Allergy UK is regularly contacted for advice on how to get a reliable diagnosis, so they set up the service which will be available through local pharmacies from May 19, the first day of National Allergy Week. It will offer a consultation by a pharmacist who will have had special training in allergy. Further support and information will then be provided by Allergy UK.
CEO Muriel Simmons said: “This is an exciting development for people with allergy and we have listened to those who contact us desperate for help. They want a local, affordable service where they can feel confident in the advice being given.
“We are delighted to be working with the National Pharmacy Association to introduce this much needed service. The local pharmacy is often the first place that people turn to for advice with a health problem and it is therefore logical to establish a high quality allergy screening service within the pharmacy.”
Deputy CEO of Allergy UK, Jules Payne, added: “Any sufferer going to a pharmacist bearing the Allergy UK accreditation can be assured that the person they are seeing is a highly trained healthcare professional.”
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