Welcome on this new blog which aims to share updates on the Sickle Cell Comparative Research to Inform Policy project, funded by the NHS Race & Health Observatory, at Imperial College London.
We started our new project exploring inequalities in the care of people with sickle cell disease this month. Inequalities in sickle cell disease have been recently highlighted in the Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia All-Party Parliamentary Group inquiry into avoidable sickle cell deaths, titled ‘No-one’s listening’.
The NHS Race and Health Observatory recently published the ‘Sickle cell digital discovery report: designing better acute painful sickle cell care’ report which outlined the poor experience that emergency hospital care that sickle cell disease patients experience from first-hand accounts and described key recommendations to improve care of sickle cell disease patients.
The aim of our study is to better document and understand the inequalities in the care of sickle cell disease patients across England by comparing their care with other conditions considered similar such as cystic fibrosis and haemophilia.
Meet the team
(from left to right)
- Dr Fred Piel – Senior Lecturer in Spatial Epidemiology and global expert of sickle cell disease, lead of the project | X/Twitter: @FredPiel
- Dr Rutendo Muzambi – Research associated in Health Inequalities and epidemiologist – researcher on this project| X/Twitter: @Rutendo_rm
- Dr Dan Dexter – Specialist Haematology Registrar – haematologist providing clinical input on this project.
- Ganesh Sathyamoorthy – Deputy Director of the Ethnicity & Health Unit and trustee of the UK Sickle Cell Society.
- Professor Alex Bottle – Professor of Medical Statistics – collaborator from the Dr Foster Unit
What work will we be doing for the coming months?
- Reviewing current evidence on inequalities in sickle cell care comparing with cystic fibrosis
- Perform data analyses assessing in inequalities in accident and emergency care such as hospital waiting times using data from hospitals across England
- Conduct workshops and surveys to understand sickle cell care patient’s experience and healthcare professionals working with people with sickle cell disease
So, watch this space for future monthly updates!
See you next month.