Location: London, United Kingdom

COE since 2026

Website: https://www.bartshealth.nhs.uk/respiratory/

Mission Statement: Our mission is to deliver safe, compassionate, and efficient care for patients with allergies and severe asthma. Through collaborative partnerships, cutting-edge research, and high-quality education, we aim to provide equitable, patient-centred services that improve outcomes, foster innovation, and support our team's wellbeing. Together, we strive to set new standards of excellence in East London and beyond.

About the Center: The Adult Allergy & Severe Asthma Centre at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, Barts Health NHS Trust, is a tertiary referral service delivering specialist care to a population of approximately 2.5 million across London and surrounding regions. Based within the Department of Respiratory Medicine, it provides comprehensive assessment and management for patients aged 16 years and above, including those with complex and severe allergic diseases. The service is a well-established regional hub with Royal College of Physicians IQAS accreditation. It is closely integrated with a nationally commissioned Severe Asthma Service and supports major hospital programmes, including the Barts Heart Centre, with a key role in perioperative allergy pathways and complex drug allergy assessment. Care is delivered through a multidisciplinary team (MDT) comprising consultant allergists and respiratory physicians, specialist nurses, pharmacists, dietitians, psychologists, and a dedicated administrative team. A central feature of the service is its structured, MDT-led model, with weekly multidisciplinary meetings guiding investigation and management decisions within standardised protocols and governance frameworks.

The centre has developed robust, pathway-driven models for high-impact clinical areas, including rapid-access penicillin allergy de-labelling and dedicated perioperative allergy assessment pathways, enabling timely evaluation and optimisation of treatment. A full range of specialist interventions is delivered, including allergen immunotherapy (SCIT and SLIT), biologic therapies, drug and food challenges, desensitisation. These procedures are protocolised, prospectively recorded in dedicated databases, and undertaken in a dedicated Allergy Technical Area for day-case care. This is supported by risk-stratified, colour-coded pathways aligned with WAO recommendations, ensuring appropriate allocation of monitoring, staffing, and infrastructure according to clinical complexity. The service is closely integrated with multiple specialties, including immunology, anaesthesia, dermatology, ENT, paediatric allergy and gastroenterology, enabling coordinated care for complex patients. Targeted in-hospital “allergy mobile team” assessments are delivered for selected high-complexity cases, particularly in patients with cystic fibrosis requiring specialised drug allergy evaluation. Quality improvement, governance, and education are integral to the service, supported by regular clinical governance meetings, active audit programmes, and participation in national initiatives.

The centre also functions as a regional training hub for specialist trainees, international fellows, and undergraduate education. Research activity spans translational diagnostics, clinical cohorts, and multicentre trials, particularly in drug allergy and severe asthma, with a focus on improving diagnostic precision and service delivery models.