PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Sickle Cell Diseases: Health Services (7 March 2022)

NHS England worked with the National Haemoglobinopathy Panel and Haemoglobinopathy Coordinating Centres on an expert clinical panel to understand and assess the effect of the pandemic on patients with sickle cell disease. The panel produced a range of policies and clinical guidelines on the treatment of haemoglobinopathy patients during the first wave of the pandemic. Regional commissioning teams worked directly with Haemoglobinopathy Coordinating Centres and Specialised Haemoglobinopathy Teams to understand and resolve localised impacts on service delivery.

The Haemoglobinopathy Clinical Reference Group undertook two national lessons learned exercises to understand the impact on sickle cell patients. This identified that services had adapted to different ways of supporting patient care, with some trusts reporting a significant decrease in patients attending their appointments in-person as they were now being seen virtually.