19 August 2015

Dr Fayyaz Chaudhri who was quoted in the Daily Mail article on Monday 17 August has contacted us with the letter he has sent to the Daily Mail which states:

Following the recent article in The Daily Mail I have had a lot of emails from people offended by the article as it implies that no food stuff should be available, which is not my view.  I would be grateful if a correction can be made along the lines of this statement:

Following the misleading article in The Daily Mail on Monday 17 August 2015, in which I was misrepresented, I wish to  clarify my position on prescribing gluten-free products for patients diagnosed with coeliac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis and ask for a correction to be made.

I wholeheartedly support the continuation of staple gluten-free products on prescription for people diagnosed with coeliac disease to ensure that they adhere to a strict gluten-free diet and prevent additional serious health problems which could occur down the line.

I advocate that it is necessary to maintain a healthy balanced diet and not to eat excess of sweet or fattening foods and that there is no need for biscuits and cakes to be made available to coeliac patients on the NHS as these should be a rare treat and are easily available to buy or make using natural gluten-free ingredients .

Currently there are already  alternative supply schemes operating in England for people with coeliac disease to obtain their staple gluten-free products on the NHS and it would be great if this could be standardised across the country.

Dr Fayyaz Chaudhri