Safer schools through stronger allergy evidence
A cohort study 29 published in Archives of Disease in Childhood informed a national policy on allergy safety in schools and contributed to progress towards Benedict's Law, a package of protections designed to improve emergency care for children with severe allergies. Led by Paul Turner, professor of anaphylaxis, paediatric allergy and clinical immunology at the National Heart & Lung Institute, Imperial College London, a team of researchers examined how schools prepare for anaphylaxis. They found that the current system, based on individual prescriptions for adrenaline auto-injectors, is both inefficient and costly. During the 2023–24 academic year, almost two-thirds of pupils were prescribed more than two devices, contributing to an estimated national cost of more than £9 million. In the paper, Economic modelling of providing ‘spare’ adrenaline autoinjectors to all schools to improve the management of anaphylaxis, the researchers showed that a centrally funded, school-based supply of emergency adrenaline auto-injectors could provide universal access for around £4.5 million, saving at least £4.6 million annually while improving safety for children. The findings supported campaigning by the Benedict Blythe Foundation and were cited in the UK parliament during discussions of Benedict’s Law. 30 Turner said that the research and advocacy helped shift the debate by showing that allergy safety could be improved without increasing public spending. 31
1926-2026 Celebrating the centenary of ADC
Archives of Disease in Childhood, the official journal of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, is an international, peer reviewed journal published by BMJ Group. The journal has a 2025 Journal Impact Factor of 3.4 and is ranked in the first quartile (Q1) – the top 25% of paediatrics journals.
The research published in Archives of Disease in Childhood has provided additional gravitas to the evidence that improving safety from anaphylaxis in schoolchildren is achievable without necessarily increasing costs.” Paul Turner, Professor of anaphylaxis, paediatric allergy and clinical immunology, National Heart & Lung Institute, Imperial College London, UK
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