23. October 2019
Not enough allergy specialists in Germany

It is estimated that only ten percent of the 25 million Germans with allergies have access to a specialist with an additional qualification as an allergist.

Medical professors at the Allergy Congress in Hanover last September criticised the dire lack of available care for people with allergies. “Patients need to wait months for an appointment and parents travel distances of up to 200 kilometres to seek treatment for their sick children”, said Christian Vogelberg, head of the allergy centre at the University Hospital Dresden, who claims that cases such as these are not the exception in Germany.

Specialised treatment could prevent allergies from getting worse. For example, the earlier the onset of hay fever in children, the greater their risk of developing asthma later on. Specialised treatment could prevent a more serious secondary disease.

The incidence of allergies in the elderly has also increased. “A significant increase in elderly patients over the age of 65 has recently been observed. Far too little research has been conducted so far on allergies in this age group”, said Ludger Klimek, director of the Centre for Rhinology and Allergology in Wiesbaden.

The doctors are calling for policy changes in healthcare that would dedicate more attention and resources to the field of allergology through measures such as structured treatment programmes and better training for medical students and prospective specialists.

 

Source

 

Press release ‘Deutscher Allergie Kongress: Medizinprofessoren kritisieren eklatante Mängel bei der Versorgung von Allergikern’ (‘German Allergy Congress: Medical professors criticise blatant lack of available treatment for people with allergies’). German Allergy Congress, 25 September 2019, author: Kerstin Striewe. Retrieved on 26 September 2019 (in German). Last accessed 26.09.2019

Text: kf/ktg

Tags: Allergy, Asthma