Lupus UK Centres of Excellence
The Lupus UK Centres of Excellence for Patient Centred Care award scheme is designed to recognise high quality patient-centred approaches for people living with lupus in rheumatology services and specialist lupus clinics within hospital outpatient departments.
The criteria are designed to consider what people living with lupus need and want from specialist services to help them ensure they can access care in the best possible way.
The Lupus UK Centres of Excellence award does not include any assessment of the quality of clinical care as this is beyond the scope of Lupus UK as a patient charity. Any complaints or concerns about quality of clinical care or individual members of hospital staff should be addressed to the hospital team directly or via PALS (England), PALS (Wales) or PASS (Scotland) or PCC (N Ireland).
Lupus UK cannot respond to individual complaints or comments about patient-centred approach of any Centres but will collate feedback that will form part of the review process.
Lupus UK Centres of Excellence for Patient – Centred Care are:
CITY HOSPITAL/QUEEN ELIZABETH HOSPITAL/BIRMINGHAM UNIVERSITY (OFFICIAL OPENING: OCTOBER 2005)
Led by: Professor Caroline Gordon, based at City Hospital and Doctor Ben Rhodes, at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital
Rheumatology clinics run at City Hospital, Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Birmingham University from Monday to Friday. Patients with all types of rheumatic diseases are seen by specialists; X-ray and scanning facilities are also available within the area. Their rheumatology team have close links with specialists within their hospital and more widely throughout the West Midlands.
ALDER HEY – LIVERPOOL (OFFICIAL OPENING: OCTOBER 2010)
Led by: Professor Michael Beresford
Alder Hey’s paediatric rheumatology unit is the first LUPUS UK Centre of Excellence for Children and Young People. It provides the highest level of specialist care to children and adolescents across the region. Their department is leading in paediatric research with links to all major centres across the UK and around the world. They care for patients with severe chronic inflammatory conditions, including lupus. Some are life-long and can have an enormous impact on the child and adolescent, as well as the wider family.
THE CENTRE FOR RHEUMATOLOGY AT UCLH – LONDON (OFFICIAL OPENING: JULY 2012)
Led by: Professor David Isenberg
The University College London Hospitals’ department of rheumatology has over thirty highly respected academics who are led by Professor Isenberg. Both adults and adolescents are treated at this centre; the centre also has close links with Great Ormond Street Hospital’s paediatric rheumatology service.
Dido, a multi-million selling singer, whose father was treated at this centre for lupus, helped unveil the plaque back in 2012 announcing that the UCLH’s centre for rheumatology was recognised as one of Lupus UK’s Centres of Excellence.
LOUISE COOTE LUPUS UNIT – LONDON (OFFICIAL OPENING: SEPTEMBER 2014)
Led by: Professor David D’Cruz
The Louise Coote Lupus Unit is the largest lupus unit in Europe. They provide a wide range of services for patients with lupus and other autoimmune connective tissue disorders and anti-phospholipid (Hughes) syndrome. They are at the forefront of research in lupus and autoimmune connective tissue disorders, with their lupus research unit being a part of King’s College London. The Centre offers an online booking service for existing patients where they can book an appointment online for a nurse to call them if they need advice or help with diagnosis, medicines and concerns about symptoms that need to be addressed before their next appointment.
ROYAL NATIONAL HOSPITAL FOR RHEUMATIC DISEASES – BATH (OFFICIAL OPENING: MARCH 2016)
Led by: Professor Neil McHugh
The Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases’ rheumatology team provides both specialist and general rheumatology services for adults, children and adolescents. The hospital has an international reputation for their research into a range of rheumatic conditions, including lupus. This centre is one of the few in the UK who are dedicated to the treatment of complex regional pain syndrome and treat patients from the age of eleven years.
ADDENBROOKE’S HOSPITAL – CAMBRIDGE (OFFICIAL OPENING: JULY 2018)
Led by: Dr Natasha Jordan
There has been a vasculitis and lupus clinic at Addenbrooke’s Hospital since 1987 and it currently cares for over 1,000 patients. The medical staff includes NHS consultants who have all been trained in kidney medicine and have many years experience in managing autoimmune conditions. Specialist registrars also work in the clinic under the supervision of the consultants.
Yvonne Norton, Peter Norton, Jan Roberts and Chris Maker represented the charity at the presentation of the Lupus UK Centre of Excellence award to Addenbrooke’s Hospital on the 4th July 2018. Professor Graham Hughes assisted in the presentation and hospital consultants Professor David Jayne, Dr Frances Hall and Dr Natasha Jordan, who led the Centre of Excellence application, were present to accept the plaque. Staff and members of Cambridgeshire Lupus Group took part and Chair Davina Frost, in her address gave a tribute to Shelagh Cheesman, whose husband was a very special guest at the event.
BARTS HEALTH LUPUS CENTRE – MILE END (OFFICIAL OPENING: NOVEMBER 2019)
The Centre is a multi-professional clinical and academic centre dedicated to the care of patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. The Centre runs two weekly clinics:
– Wednesday mornings at The Royal London Hospital (Mile End site)
– Tuesday mornings at Whipps Cross Hospital
Staff from different disciplines (rheumatology, renal, dermatology, immunology, nursing, physiotherapy, psychology, nutrition and research) work together within the hub allowing for rapid patient access to a team of onsite specialists. The Centre cares for more than 500 lupus patients.
GREAT ORMOND STREET HOSPITAL – LONDON (OFFICIAL OPENING: FEBRUARY 2021)
Great Ormond Street Hospital has the largest and oldest paediatric lupus service in the UK, dating back to 1999, and currently treats one of the largest cohorts of patients with the condition.
The hospital provides a highly specialist service for patients with lupus, which works within the general rheumatology service, but also links in with other departments including dermatology, nephrology, neurology, ophthalmology and, cardiology.
Lupus UK’s Chief Executive, Paul Howard, and Vice-Chair and Trustee, Yvonne Norton attended the virtual ceremony on Wednesday 24th February 2021.
UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL SOUTHAMPTON (OFFICIAL OPENING: MARCH 2021)
The Southampton clinic was set up in October 2002 by consultant rheumatologists Professor Chris Edwards and Dr Brian Davidson with a commitment to ongoing research looking into the causes of lupus and an aim to develop innovative and pioneering treatments for the disease.
The clinic cares for more than 700 patients and has three lupus consultants and two specialist nurses.
Professor Edwards expressed his delight when accepting the award during the virtual ceremony “To be recognised with this award means so much to us all as it is all about patient care and experience and that has been the driving force behind everything we do.”