Allergy UK Impact Report

A message from our CEO,

Our 2020-2025 strategy for change had to adapt timelines to rise above the challenges of the global pandemic. In 2022 we were finally able to implement initiatives that were held up while the world adjusted to Covid-19. This included launching our “It’s Time to Take Allergy Seriously” campaign, created from the voices of people living with allergy through our research activities undertaken the previous year.

Amongst all the excellent work captured in this report, the one aspect of Allergy UK’s work in this period that has been most exciting to finally see lift off, has been the launch of our Patient Charter, the first patient charter for people living with allergic conditions in the UK. Built around three pillars – the right to education and accurate information, the right to quality care and the right to equality in society – the Charter outlines specific calls for each pillar. It was developed in consultation with patients living with allergy, parents or guardians of children with allergy and leading clinicians from across the UK. Acting on these calls, we believe, will immeasurably improve the diagnosis, care and quality of life of those within
the allergic community, because they transcend a specific allergic condition.

Similarly, over this past year, we’ve created an Allergy UK Youth Forum, to ensure that, as an organisation, we are listening to the voices of young people. In doing so we can better understand the lived experience of those transitioning from paediatric care to adult care, where we know there can be gaps in support. Our Youth Forum supports and informs the work that Allergy UK will need to undertake to support tomorrow’s generation.

Both initiatives represent an interesting inflection in Allergy UK’s history. Both depart from addressing the here and now of living with an allergy, which often forms the core of much of our services. Both are also optimistic in their purpose and are rooted in a belief that it is possible for there to be a future where our society no longer marginalises those living with
allergic conditions, and our healthcare system is suitably designed to support the multifaceted needs of people living with allergies. Until then, as this impact report hopefully demonstrates, Allergy UK will continue to passionately champion the voice and needs of the allergic community.

Our work would not be possible without the support and generosity of those who engage with our charity, whether through volunteering, donations, taking part in fundraising challenges and events, or through grants and sponsorship. We thank you all for your on-going support and for working with us to ensure that the UK takes allergy seriously.

Carla Jones, CEO