Coroner calls for allergies tsar after 17-year-old dies from anaesthetic reaction

A senior coroner has warned that more allergy sufferers will die due to a “lack of national leadership” following the death of a 17-year-old aspiring doctor.

Heidi Connor said the “tragic” case of Alexandra Briess was “not new territory”, citing three recent cases where people had died from anaphylaxis.

She has now written to the Government saying lives are at risk without better funding and research into the condition and calling for the appointment of an allergies tsar.

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.

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Source: The Times, 18 April 2023