The British Society for Immunology Clinical Immunology Professional Network (BSI-CIPN) submitted a response to the NHS 10-year plan for health on 2 December 2024. Below is a brief summary of the full submission. For any questions on the consultation and our response, please contact cipn@immunology.org.
Priorities for the 10-year plan for health
The British Society for Immunology Clinical Immunology Professional Network (BSI-CIPN) would like to see clinical immunology and allergy recognised within a 10-year plan for health, alongside and within a greater focus on supporting pathology sub-specialties broadly within the NHS.
Rising patient demand within the specialist services, the advancing field of immunogenomics, and the growing pipeline of immune therapies used to treat a growing number of conditions warrant an increased national drive and focus to support this vital area of clinical practice.
Greater national and regional ownership of long-term workforce planning for clinical immunology and allergy
Within clinical immunology and allergy, currently, there are a number of services across the country that are at risk of collapse, and this is a situation that we cannot risk for the patients we serve. The range of professional groups who provide and support care within these services are all impacted by workforce challenges, including medics, healthcare scientists, nurses, pharmacists, and psychological practitioners.
We are aware the government is currently looking to refresh its long-term workforce plan and we recommend it heeds input on adequate national and regional workforce planning at a specialty level. We would like to see an increase in training and consultant positions across professional groups for immunology, organised and planned at a national level, and a commitment in adequate funding to increase the clinical immunology workforce overall to counter service vulnerability. These commitments should continue to be built upon over the medium and long term, with associated planning and review.
Improving and sustaining access to services and improving equity through increased national resourcing and support for local commissioning
With commissioning responsibility for both immunology and allergy due to be fully delegated to ICBs from 2025, it is critical that national oversight and leadership is adequately resourced to support equity of care and counter the postcode lottery that already exists in the specialty, informed through improved national data collection.
We would like to see a commitment to increased resourcing for clinical immunology and allergy at a national level, alongside a review of current service provision across England in support of local commissioning, reducing inequities, and reducing the current postcode lottery that exists.
We would also like to see ringfenced funding for our services at ICB level, with defined local commissioning leadership.
Hospital to community
We think there is scope to take action in a number of areas including:
- Improvement in allergy care within primary care settings to cope with rising demand
- Supporting equitable access to allergen immunotherapies through standardised integrated care agreements
- Moving care out of hospital through community diagnostic services
Analogue to digital
We highlighted that IT infrastructure and interoperability should be improved across the NHS to support care in the community and reduce inequity of access within immunology, and more broadly.
Sickness to prevention
Our calls to support clinical immunology include:
- Supporting earlier diagnosis of hereditary angioedema and primary immunodeficiency
- Access to specialist psychological support embedded within services
Policy ideas for change
Activities that the BSI-CIPN would like to see to support the future long-term development and sustainability of clinical immunology include:
- Growing the clinical immunology workforce to meet rising service demand and countering current workforce vulnerability 
- Improving and sustaining access to services and improving equity through increased national resourcing and support for local commissioning
- Implementing newborn screening for severe combined immunodeficiency
- Improved access to targeted therapeutics for rare immune-mediated diseases through reviewing National Institute for Health and Care Excellence thresholds
- Supporting improved data collection on clinical immunology through national support for patient registries
- Contributing to improved care and reduced antimicrobial resistance through penicillin de-labelling
- Safeguarding immunoglobulin supplies
- A considered and ethical framework and long-term plan for genetic screening
- Longer-term workforce planning and future service design in the context of the growing pipeline of immune therapies
