One in three Brits now have an allergy - but GPs still ‘not trained’ in them

One in three Brits now have an allergy - but GPs still ‘not trained’ in themSurging allergy rates mean 39% of children and 30% of adults are now allergic to something - but charities warn most GPs begin careers with no allergy trainingCommentsNewsMartin Bagot Health and Science Editor23:30, 21 Apr 2026View 2 ImagesNow 39% of kids are allergic to something(Image: Getty Images)A third of Brits now suffer from allergies amid a warning that GPs are not trained to deal with them.‌Rates have surged in recent decades and a new National Allergy Strategy warns that the UK has some of the highest in the world. Charities say that despite this most GPs begin their careers with no allergy training, even though 8% of consultations are now allergy-related.‌Groups including Allergy UK and the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology created the strategy as 39% of children and 30% of adults are now allergic to something.‌Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, 15, died in 2016 after eating a Pret baguette containing sesame.View 2 ImagesNatasha Ednan-Laperouse had a fatal reaction to a Pret sandwich(Image: PA)READ MORE: Everything you need to know about dust mite allergies as 'life changing' pill offered on NHSREAD MORE: 'Peanut allergy put me in hospital 4 times - now my life has been transformed'Her mum Tanya, founder and trustee of the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, said: "Allergy care is currently too poorly - and sometimes dangerously - managed in the NHS. There is a postcode lottery of care, insufficient numbers of allergy doctors, long waiting times for allergy testing and service gaps. The allergy community has come together to develop solutions.”‌It comes as a report shows hay fever sufferers now endure symptoms for up to two weeks longer than they would have done in the 1990s.A review published in the prestigious Lancet medical journal shows climate change is shifting the flowering season of plants that release allergenic pollen.Hay fever occurs w...