Allergy specialist workshops and clinics

The majority of children with a suspected food allergy will have skin testing and blood testing at an outpatient appointment.

However, for a small number the results may not be conclusive, so to get an accurate diagnosis an oral food challenge or supervised feed is required.

We offer the largest food challenge service in the country, performing oral food challenges and supervised feeds in our dedicated day case unit.

If your child requires a food challenge or supervised feed, your clinician should advise you on how this will be booked.

If you have any problems booking your child's food challenge or supervised feed please contact us by calling 020 7188 6390.

Find out more in our patient information leaflet Food challenges and supervised feeds - information for parents and carers (PDF 98Kb).

Allergic conditions can affect a number of body systems. We know children who are affected by one allergic condition, such as food allergy are more likely to suffer from another, such as asthma or eczema.

For most children these conditions can be managed at their routine allergy appointment. However, we are seeing an increasing number of children with complex, interacting allergic conditions and have set up a number of joint clinics with clinicians from different specialities, to better manage these children with more complex conditions.

We run regular clinics jointly with other services so that children with more complex conditions can see healthcare professionals with different specialities in one place.

•  Joint allergy and dermatology clinic:
  Dr Susan Chan  – consultant allergist
  Dr Wedad Abdelrahman – consultant dermatologist
  
  
• Joint allergy and gastroenterology clinic:
  Dr Tom Marrs  – consultant allergist
  Dr Rakesh Vora  – consultant gastroenterologist
  Support is also provided by specialist dieticians

• Joint allergy and respiratory clinic:
  Dr Helen Brough or Dr Susan Chan – consultant allergist
  Dr Meredith Robertson – consultant paediatrician

• Joint allergy and ENT clinic:
  Dr Kate Swan  – consultant allergist
  Dr Ian Lilly – consultant ENT surgeon

We run the largest comprehensive desensitisation service for children in the UK.

The service is run by the specialist nursing team.

Desensitisation (also known as specific immunotherapy) is a treatment for severe allergies that do not respond fully to medical treatment.

We offer immunotherapy for allergy to:

• pollen (hayfever)
• dust mites
• animal dander
• insect venom

We also offer the option of subcutaneous (injection) or sublingual (oral) treatment.

Any patient who is being considered for the treatment is seen in an immunotherapy assessment clinic where different treatment options and suitability for treatment is discussed.

Treatment is initiated on our day care ward under the supervision of our specialist nurses and in the case of sublingual immunotherapy is continued at home. We do not currently offer a desensitisation service for food allergies.

We also provide a desensitisation programme for children who have had anaphylaxis to wasp and bee stings. This is an intensive treatment programme, requiring regular visits to our day care ward.

This specialist tertiary service is offered for children with allergic asthma, who do not respond to maximal conventional therapy. Treatments include omalizumab and mepolizumab.

These children are assessed in our specialist clinics and the therapy is administered in our day case unit.

The service is led by Dr Susan Chan, consultant allergist.

This unique tertiary level service aims to accurately and safely investigate patients referred with suspected allergic reactions to medications.

The service offers expert clinical opinion supported by skin prick and intra-dermal testing and where necessary, drug provocation testing.

The majority of the investigations of drug allergy take place on our day case unit.

We are closely supported by our children's dermatology colleagues for the combined investigation of drug allergies that are of a contact nature.

We provide a service for children who have had adverse reactions to vaccinations in the past or who are allergic to components of a vaccine, such as children with an egg allergy who require the seasonal influenza or yellow fever vaccine.

We are the only hospital in the UK which is a registered yellow fever vaccination centre; we accept referrals for children with an egg allergy who require the yellow fever vaccine.

We aim to see the child within two weeks of referral and are able to safely assess and where appropriate administer the yellow fever vaccination to children with an egg allergy.

For more information about yellow fever vaccinations see the National Travel Health Network and Centre website.

This is a unique tertiary level service that aims to accurately and safely diagnose and manage conditions that present with angioedema and/or urticaria.

It is led by consultant allergist Dr Susan Chan.

This is a unique tertiary level service that aims to accurately and safely diagnose and manage conditions of an allergic nature that are related to exercise/activity.

Examples include:

• food-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis
• exercise-induced anaphylaxis
• exercise-induced asthma

It's led by consultant allergist Professor George Du Toit.

Professor Du Toit enjoys close collaboration with exercise physicians at the department of sport and exercise sciences, Northumbria University, where he is visiting professor.  

Dr Kate Swan, consultant allergist, runs a network clinic at Croydon University hospital once every two months.