Your allergy clinic appointment
If you would like to be seen by one of our allergy specialists, you will need to be referred by your GP or a health care professional. We also receive referrals from other clinicians from other hospitals and emergency departments. The referrals are made through the NHS choose and book online system and your GP is required to give you a reference number to use for this. See the allergy referrals page for more information.
For any Outpatient Allergy appointment enquiries including reschedule or cancellations please contact our Bookings and Cancellations team on 020 8510 5544 or email huh-tr.bookings_cancellationsfollowup@nhs.net.
For any appointments related to Immunotherapy, Anti Ig-E treatment, Food or Drug Allergy Day case appointments please contact our allergy administrative Staff on 020 8510 7769 or email huh-tr.allergyservice@nhs.net.
For any clinical queries related to your immunotherapy, Anti Ig-E, Food or Drug Allergy testing, Allergy Education & Anaphylaxis training please contact our Allergy Clinical Nurse Specialists on 0208 510 7729 or by mobile 07827 979395. Alternatively you can send an email to huh-tr.allergyservice@nhs.net.
For any diagnostic test results and clinic letter enquiries please contact our allergy service secretaries on 0208 510 7769 or email huh-tr.respiratory.department@nhs.net
Before your appointment
If you are taking an antihistamine medication (e g: chlorphenamine (Piriton©), cetirizine, loratadine, fexofenadine, levocetirizine or desloratadine) you will need to stop taking them for at least 3 days before attending your appointment as they might interfere with the allergy test. In case of a follow up appointment, this may not be necessary and this needs to be verified at our first clinic visit. Please be aware that some cough and cold remedies (such as Benylin© and Medised©) also contain antihistamine. Please speak to your pharmacist if you have any queries.
You do not need to stop any other medication such as asthma inhalers, nasal sprays or other medicines. Please bring details of your medicines with you to the clinic. If you use inhalers please bring these along with spacer device with you to the appointment.
We advise you to bring a diary of any previous events and photos of reactions to help with making the diagnosis – they can be reviewed at the appointment but should be easily accessible.
For certain allergies, we may be able to perform skin prick tests using extracts for number allergens such as common aeroallergens, nuts, egg, milk, fish, pollens, animals and some medicines.
However, in case the above tests do not give the answers to your problem, it may then be necessary for you to be tested with the real food item(s) in question such as fruits, vegetables, fish, egg, milk, sea food and cereals. You will then be asked to bring a small quantity of the particular food items for further testing in the adult allergy unit. These tests may take between 1 to 4 hours to complete. Allergy service administrator or nursing staff will communicate this information to you in writing about the food items to be tested. We have a separate leaflet explaining this in detail.
What to expect at your appointment
Please ensure you arrive at least 20 minutes prior to your appointment. The appointment time given is the time you should be present to see the doctor after being checked in and where necessary, having your observations recorded.
The most important aspect of the appointment is a detailed consultation by obtaining a thorough history to find out the nature of your problem. Where possible and necessary, we may also carry out some diagnostic tests after the consultation. Whilst this can take longer, it can reduce the need for multiple visits. However, in many cases, where further testing is required this can be arranged in our specialist adult allergy unit at a later time.
Allergy tests are performed based on the given history and there is no role for “blind” testing as it does not help in solving the problem. .
We may also give you advice regarding management of allergic diseases, allergen avoidance, use of inhalers, nasal sprays and advice on Asthma, Urticaria & Eczema management. You may also be able to receive advice on self-management of an allergic reaction including anaphylaxis. This includes information on the use of antihistamines, steroids and adrenaline auto injectors.
We aim to make your visit to our clinic as efficient as possible by combining the consultation with allergy skin testing, blood & breathing tests. In addition, there may also be an opportunity for you to get a consultation from other specialist like dermatologist and & dietitian. This may involve short periods of waiting and this removes the need for multiple visits. If this is not possible, we can arrange diagnostic tests & other specialists review later on including paper clinic follow up (you do not need to attend for this) to review your results.
The dietitian is able to give advice on avoidance of food items you are allergic to and in addition, also offer you information about having a balanced food intake to maintain your nutritional needs.
After your appointment
Following your consultation with the allergy specialist if you require further treatment or investigation like allergen Immunotherapy (desensitisation), food or drug Allergy testing your allergy specialist should then be able to organise the appointment for you and our administrative staff or allergy clinical nurse specialists will contact you to discuss this. We suggest you to ensure to verify “your personal Information such as correspondence address, phone numbers, email address and GP details” and these are to be kept up to date in your records. This can also be updated at the reception desk during your check-in as well.
Your doctor or nurse specialist may also give a prescription (FP10) for your medications and these can be dispensed by any chemist outside the hospital. Please note that these prescriptions are not accepted by the hospital pharmacy. In case you have difficulty in obtaining the prescribed medications, we suggest you to contact our secretaries or your GP to arrange for an alternate prescription.
In addition, we will also send you a letter with details of your consultation and treatment plans. This letter is sent out within two weeks of your consultation and your GP will also receive a copy of this.