Adrenaline auto-injectors could become available in public places

Release of a landmark report by the government’s independent advisory body -- the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) -- has paved the way for life-saving adrenaline auto-injectors (AAI) to become available in public places.

However, its implementation is possible only after a public consultation and a legislative change.

The report launched on Thursday (November 11) outlines recommendations “for the safe and effective use of AAIs, including quicker treatment, to help save lives.”

An AAI is used as an emergency treatment for anaphylaxis – a potentially fatal allergic reaction.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is taking forward the recommendations of the report.

Dr June Raine, MHRA chief executive, said: “Your (patients’) safety is always our priority. That is why, together with the healthcare system, we are implementing the report’s recommendations to improve the safe and effective use of AAIs, and to widen their access where they may be most needed, to help save lives.”

Commenting on the report, health minister Lord Kamall said: “This report has opened up the possibility of life-saving adrenaline shots being available in public spaces such as restaurants, which would give people with serious allergies access to treatment they need most, no matter where they are.”

The report has been prepared with inputs from patients, experts and healthcare professionals.

Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed, chair of the Commission on Human Medicines, said that patients suffering with anaphylaxis “must be protected and these recommendations are designed to do just that.”