A new report by British Society for Immunology Clinical Immunology Professional Network’s (BSI-CIPN) has found serious issues in the way that immunology and allergy services are staffed, leaving primary and secondary immunodeficiency patients at serious risk.
The BSI-CIPN represents over 220 professionals in the clinical immunology space including doctors, healthcare scientists, pharmacists and specialist nurses.
The report is endorsed by The Association of Clinical Pathologists, The British Society for Allergy & Clinical Immunology, The Immunology & Allergy Nurses Group, The Institute of Biomedical Science and The Association for Laboratory Medicine.
The results show that staffing levels for clinical immunology and allergy services vary a lot across the UK when compared to local population sizes. Scotland is in the most serious situation, and Wales is also struggling.
Across the UK, fifteen services are responsible for very large populations but have only one or two consultant immunologists. This leaves them at high risk of failing if even one staff member leaves. Staffing in other key roles, such as nurses, healthcare scientists, and support staff also varies widely. Overall, this highlights the need for a full review of the clinical immunology and allergy workforce to ensure services can meet both current and future patient needs.
In an extract from the report, Professor Sinisa Savic, Chair of the BSI-CIPN and Consultant in Clinical Immunology and Allergy, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, commented:
“Clinical immunology and allergy is a small but critical NHS specialty, yet years of inadequate workforce planning have left services under resourced and, in some areas, close to collapse. Despite the dedication of our clinical teams, current staffing levels cannot keep pace with patient demand. This report sets out clear evidence of a service at breaking point, with staff stretched to look after huge populations. Too many patients are facing a postcode lottery when it comes to access to services, with the situation in Scotland and Wales particularly critical.”
The BSI-CIPN is calling for:
- An urgent, nationally driven, full-service review for clinical immunology and allergy within each of the four UK nations to establish the workforce that is needed.
- They support the Royal College of Pathologists recommendation to establish 17 additional immunology training posts by 2027 to cover current vacancies and a further 35 by 2030 combined with a commensurate increase in consultant posts.
- Comprehensive workforce planning for clinical immunology and allergy should be routinely carried out at a national level in each of the four UK nations.
- National action to improve training pathways.
- Proactive support the next generation of clinical immunology and allergy staff and help future-proof services by taking steps to ensure ringfenced training, education, and supervisory time within senior clinical, nursing, and scientific job plans is properly implemented.
- Data on service activity, workload, and outcomes should be collected locally and published nationally.
- There should be strengthened efforts to ensure regional and local commissioning organisations understand the value of clinical immunology and allergy services.
Posted December 2025
