From May 16 to 18, the XXXVII National Congress of the Spanish Society of Clinical Immunology and Pediatric Allergy and Asthma (SEICAP) was held in Avila at the Palacio de Congresos de Avila Lienzo Norte. More than 500 specialists from all over Spain attended the conference.
At the congress, SEICAP denounced the fact that most Spanish hospitals do not have specialized Pediatric Allergology services. Dr. Marcel Íbero, president of SEICAP, assures that between 15 and 20% of Spanish children have at least one allergy and not all the centers have a pediatric allergist to provide them with the diagnosis and treatment adequate to the training of a pediatrician. In fact, Dr. Íbero states that there are very few high-level Pediatric Allergy Services, located in level 3 hospitals, which are concentrated in cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Pamplona and Malaga. In other provincial capitals we find Pediatric Allergy Units located within the Pediatrics Service, most of them with precarious staffing and resources.
Dr. José María Maillo, president of the organizing committee of the XXXVII SEICAP Congress, has warned that the hospitals which do have specialized services are overwhelmed due to the progressive increase in the number of children with allergies. It is estimated that one pediatric allergist is needed for every 50,000 to 100,000 children. He adds that the main problem is that there should be pediatric subspecialties, and more and more professionals are also studying allergology but there are no vacancies for them.
Late diagnosis
Patients note that due to the lack of pediatric allergists, the time that passes between the child’s visit to the pediatrician and the specialist’s consultation is very long, so the diagnosis takes a long time to arrive, says Pilar Muñoz González, president of the Spanish Association of People Allergic to Food and Latex (AEPNAA). The long journeys that must be made to be seen by a pediatric allergist is another major drawback. In regional hospitals there is usually no specialized service for allergic children. Even in large hospitals there are at most three specialists, taking into account that more and more people are affected, concludes Dr. Pilar Muñoz González.