James Evans has asked the Welsh Government what it is doing to help allergy sufferers.
The Brecon and Radnorshire MS and Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care said at the Senedd that recent cases have highlighted challenges faced by individuals with severe allergies.
Video from Senedd.tv
The Brecon and Radnorshire MS and Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care said at the Senedd that recent cases have highlighted challenges faced by individuals with severe allergies.
Video from Senedd.tv
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00:00later in the year, and I hope that will help to address the issue that you've noted.
00:05James Evans.
00:06James Evans AM First Minister, recent cases have highlighted
00:09challenges faced by individuals with severe allergies in Wales, such as families resorting
00:14to testing food on their children in hospital car parks due to a lack of specialist allergy
00:19services across Wales.
00:21According to Allergy UK, 61 per cent of individuals feel there is insufficient Government support
00:26for allergy sufferers.
00:27Furthermore, WalesFed data indicates a growing need for emergency treatments, like adrenaline
00:32auto-injectors, and better allergy care infrastructure.
00:36Could you outline today, First Minister, what the Welsh Government is doing to expand specialist
00:41allergy services across Wales, and improving access to emergency treatment, like EpiPens,
00:47and also ensuring that public facilities, like schools and community facilities and
00:50venues across Wales, are trained to handle severe allergic reactions within our populations?
00:55Carwyn Jones AM Thanks very much, and welcome to your new
00:58portfolio.
00:59I hope you don't like sleeping too muchóit'll keep you awake a lot at night.
01:06Just to be clear, we are very well aware that the allergy support across Wales varies a
01:13lot, and that's why what we've done is we've undertaken a scoping exercise to better understand
01:19where the gaps are in terms of provision.
01:21We've appointed Professor Chris Fegan to undertake this work, so that work is being
01:28undertaken as we speak.
01:29So, all schools are provided with guidance and are trained to recognise the signs and
01:35symptoms which trigger, in particular, those life-threatening medical conditions, and they
01:41need to know what happens in an emergency, and they need to know how to administer an
01:45EpiPen.
01:46That is being done in our schools already.
01:52As you know, we have free school meals in primary schools, and there is a sensitivity
01:56around that as well, which needs to take into account the dietary needs of learners.