The Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy

9 September 2005

NSW CORONIAL INQUIRY FINDINGS - DEATH FROM PEANUT ANAPHYLAXIS

This morning Magistrate Jacqueline Milledge, Senior Deputy NSW Coroner, handed down the findings from the coronial inquest into the tragic death of Hamidur Rahman.

Magistrate Milledge stated "I find that Hamidur Rahman died on 20 March 2002 at Leeton, New South Wales. The cause of death is 'Anaphylactic shock' suffered after eating peanut butter on a school excursion."

In total seventeen recommendations were made, directed to the Minister for Education and Training, the Minister for Community Services, the Minister for Health and the Attorney General. These recommendations include:

• Undertaking of allergy and anaphylaxis awareness training by all staff in schools, pre-schools and childcare centres.
• Continuation and expansion of the current NSW programme of Anaphylaxis Nurse Educators.
• Conducting an audit of all schools and childcare facilities to identify children who suffer from allergies, and establishing a central register of information accessible to all staff.
• Introduction of legislation covering schools and childcare centres to make the protection of children at risk of anaphylaxis mandatory.
• A public awareness campaign.
• An awareness campaign for all medical practitioners in both general and specialist fields.
• Establishment of a register of deaths from anaphylaxis.

ASCIA strongly supports these recommendations. It has already provided seed funding for the establishment of an Anaphylaxis Registry which will include a register of deaths from anaphylaxis throughout Australia and New Zealand.

The findings and recommendations have implications beyond NSW. There is a pressing need for similar programs to be implemented in all other states and territories and in New Zealand.

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