A specialist emergency sickle cell unit at the Royal London Hospital is set to close tomorrow, prompting serious concern from patients, clinicians, and health equality campaigners who warn that the decision could put lives at risk.
The unit has provided rapid, specialist treatment for people experiencing acute sickle cell pain crises — a life-threatening complication of the inherited blood disorder. By offering direct access to trained clinicians, the service has helped patients avoid prolonged waits in Accident & Emergency departments and reduced the risk of complications such as organ damage, stroke, and sepsis.
Campaigners say its closure comes despite clear national evidence showing that non-specialist care for sickle cell patients leads to poorer outcomes. The Care Quality Commission’s No One’s Listening report previously highlighted widespread failures in the treatment of people with sickle cell disease, including delayed pain relief, disbelief of symptoms, and racial bias in care.
Critically, patients say they have not been given clear information about what will replace the unit, or how emergency sickle cell care will be delivered safely once it closes.
“This unit exists because standard A&E pathways repeatedly failed sickle cell patients,” said one campaign organiser. “Removing it without a transparent, specialist alternative is a step backwards for patient safety.”
A condition marked by inequality
Sickle cell disease predominantly affects people of African and Caribbean heritage and is the fastest-growing genetic condition in the UK. Around 17,000 people live with the condition nationwide, with thousands more carrying the sickle cell trait.
Health advocates argue that the closure cannot be separated from wider issues of racial health inequality. Studies have repeatedly shown that Black patients are more likely to have their pain underestimated or undertreated, particularly in emergency settings.
“Specialist sickle cell units were developed precisely because general emergency care was not working,” said a representative from a national sickle cell charity. “Closing them sends a deeply troubling message about whose pain is prioritised.”
Evidence ignored?
The No One’s Listening report found that delays in pain management were common and that patients were often treated with suspicion rather than urgency. It warned that these failures were not isolated incidents but systemic problems requiring targeted solutions — including specialist services.
Campaigners say the Royal London unit exemplified that solution, offering timely care from clinicians trained in sickle cell management. They fear that reverting patients back into general A&E settings will recreate the very conditions that led to avoidable harm in the past.
“This is not innovation or reform,” one patient advocate said. “It’s the removal of a safety net.”
Calls for urgent action
In response to the closure, campaigners are urging members of the public to sign a petition calling for the service to be retained or replaced with an equivalent specialist pathway. They are also asking constituents to contact their MPs to demand answers from NHS decision-makers.
The campaign emphasises that sickle cell care should not be treated as an experiment.
“This is not a trial. These are real patients with real emergencies,” said one organiser. “Sickle cell is not a condition you can safely manage without expertise.”
As the unit prepares to close, patients and campaigners say the absence of a clearly communicated, specialist replacement places people with sickle cell disease at unacceptable risk.
They stress that this decision is not just a service change, but a matter of patient safety, dignity, and health equality — particularly for communities already facing systemic disadvantage in healthcare.
This is your final chance to take action.
Sign the petition: https://lnkd.in/eh5-JRNJ
📩 Contact your local MP today: https://lnkd.in/eGZ8Hm7q