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Teen dies after being refused life-saving medication

A young teen in Ireland has died after a chemist refused to give her life-saving medication without a prescription.

Emma Sloan was suffering from an allergic reaction to peanuts and needed an EpiPen, but was refused one in a law that says they cannot be obtained without a prescription, the Daily Mail reported.

The 14-year-old then died on the street just minutes later without the life-saving adrenaline shot.

"I couldn’t get it [the EpiPen] without a prescription. He told me to bring her to A&E I left and I knew we’d have to run all the way to Temple Street Hospital," her mother Caroline Sloan told the Herald.

The girl found it hard to breathe after she ate satay sauce at a Chinese restaurant in Dublin.

She reportedly thought she had ordered a curry, and missed the sign saying that the satay sauce contained peanuts.

Ms Sloan told the Herald newspaper: "I’m so angry. I was not given the EpiPen. I was told to bring her to A&E."

She described her daughter a s"beautiful, smart and funny" and urged all parents with a child with allergies to carry an EpiPen with them.

"Emma was allergic to nuts and was very careful. How could a peanut kill my child?’ she told the Herald.

The Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland was reportedly examining the case, while Ireland's Children's Minister Frances Fitzgerald called for an inquiry into the tragic death.

A streetview image of Jimmy Chung’s, where the teen accidentally ate satay sauce containing peanuts. Photo: Google Streetview
A streetview image of Jimmy Chung’s, where the teen accidentally ate satay sauce containing peanuts. Photo: Google Streetview

A statement from the manager at Jimmy Chung’s restaurant, Tony Shek, read: "The staff are often asked by family members if foods contain nuts. But nothing was mentioned to any staff yesterday."

A staff member also said there was a sign at the restaurant that said "Satay sauce. Nuts contained".