Emergency Adrenaline

Earl of Effingham Excerpts

Monday 15th December 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I very much understand my noble friend’s personal involvement in this area. I congratulate her on her work in promoting the availability of needle-free delivery of adrenaline, and I too welcome its approval. It is down to local area prescribing committees to provide advice to integrated care systems on whether to include new products such as nasal adrenaline and whether they should be included in local formularies. This takes into account available evidence, as well as any relevant guidance. Following this Question from my noble friend, I will seek a view from NICE as to whether it is considering developing guidance in this area, as I know she would find that helpful.

[The Earl of Effingham (Con)]

My Lords, it has been four years since the Commission on Human Medicines first examined widening public access to adrenaline auto-injectors. It is an excellent initiative, but it requires national co-ordination. What progress have the Government made in establishing a national lead for allergy—which some refer to as an allergy tsar—given their previous support for the idea?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

We have been focusing our efforts, as I said, on whether changes to the law are required to allow wider access to, for example, adrenaline nasal sprays, which are a welcome development. Our focus is on that, rather than on the appointment of a tsar, to which the noble Earl referred. We will be establishing national clinical directors, and I am sure that this will be considered in that regard.