A coroner has issued an urgent warning to the NHS following the death of a teenage girl, Alexandra Briess, who tragically passed away after experiencing an anaphylactic reaction to Rocuronium, a common anaesthetic drug administered during routine surgery. The fatal incident occurred during a tonsillectomy procedure in Reading in 2021, carried out under NHS care. Alexandra suffered a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) during the procedure. Sadly, this led to “sudden deterioration and cardiac arrest”. She died the following day.

Senior Coroner for Berkshire, Heidi Connor, has called on the government and the NHS to create a new role within the health service to focus specifically on understanding allergies in the UK.

In her report, Ms Connor said the NHS needs someone in charge of overseeing and coordinating funding and research on allergies at a national level.

If not, Ms Connor warns, “more people are at risk of death”.

“The only way to improve understanding and prevent or reduce future deaths is to gather information nationally and fund appropriate research.” 

The coroner went on to say that it should be mandatory that fatal reactions are referred to the UK Fatal Anaphylaxis Registry (UKFAR), something that charities have been calling on for some time.

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