Deborah Meaden, Kitt Medical and Natasha's Foundation visit Haven Burnham on Sea as Holiday Park completes the roll-out of life saving anaphylaxis kits across its 39 sites

Haven, the UK’s leading holiday park operator, has joined forces with Kitt Medical to install Anaphylaxis Kitts with emergency adrenaline auto-injectors (AAIs) and provide Continuing Professional Development (CPD) approved training for staff, training over 840 first aiders across 39 Haven parks.

Kitts, containing life-saving medication used to treat severe allergic reactions have been installed within the main restaurants of all Haven sites. These will complement Haven’s extensive allergen management programme already in place and will be used to treat unexpected life-threatening allergic reactions. As a qualifying business, Haven’s new occupational health provision is setting a new standard for allergy care across its first aiders and thousands of employees.

The ‘Anaphylaxis Kitt Service’ has already proved vital in saving over 30 lives across the UK since its launch in 2023, with co-founders Zak Marks and James Cohen securing £75,000 of investment from BBC Dragon’s Den investors, Deborah Meaden and Steven Bartlett.

Haven’s team of first aiders have been given additional CPD accredited training provided by Kitt Medical developed in partnership with Anaphylaxis UK and healthcare professionals Professor Adam Fox and Dr Evans-Howells.  They will learn to use the lifesaving kit in an emergency.

The service ensures that Haven always has access to in-date AAIs, and that AAIs are replaced ahead of expiry, or in the case they’ve been used.

In addition, Haven will work in conjunction with Natasha’s Foundation, the UK’s food allergy charity, to deliver wider awareness of food allergy issues amongst Haven’s workforce across its head office and 39 sites.

The Kitt Medical device has already been used in an incident at Haven’s Holiday Park at Presthaven where a 7-month-old experienced a severe allergic reaction whilst trying solid foods.  The baby’s mother said, "The A&E team said that the quick administration of the Kitt Medical device really helped. My baby has been referred for allergy testing at our local hospital. I am so grateful to the team for their help and don't want to even think about the consequences if the device hadn't been immediately available."  

In a second incident, Chris Kenyen, a member of the security team at Haven Craig Tara, used the Kitt Medical device after an allergic reaction to almonds whilst on duty.  He is also relieved an emergency was averted after the quick thinking from the Haven team to use the device.

Peter Blake, Chief Operating Officer, Haven, said: “It’s important to us that everyone feels welcome at Haven and can have a great time on our parks.  Partnering with Kitt Medical and Natasha’s Foundation will give those with allergies added assurance that we are doing all we can to protect them. By installing life-saving equipment, training first aiders and raising awareness of allergic conditions we are committed to building even safer environments on our parks.”

Deborah Meaden, Investor, Kitt Medical, said: “Anyone can develop an allergy to anything at any time in their lives and with ‘avoidable’ anaphylaxis deaths appearing in the news too regularly, it’s clear there’s more that needs to be done to raise awareness and increase preparedness. That’s why we’re delighted to be deploying Anaphylaxis Kitts across Haven’s many iconic UK parks.”

Nadim Ednan-Laperouse OBE, co-founder of Natasha’s Foundation, said: “We’re excited to embark on this project with Haven.  Through campaigning and awareness, education and clinical research our Foundation aims to create a safer world for people living with food allergies.  In particular, the Foundation works to remove the stigma that many children face with a food allergy, by building their confidence and ensuring they can participate in activities.  Haven will help us reach even more people in this mission.”