UK sickle cell patients ‘get worse care than sufferers of similar disorders’

Study commissioned by NHS finds that sickle cell disease care lags behind that for conditions such as cystic fibrosis

People living with sickle cell disease face substandard care as its treatment significantly lags behind advances relating to other genetic disorders such as cystic fibrosis, a report has found.

The study, commissioned by the NHS Race and Health Observatory and carried out by researchers at Imperial College London, analysed various measures of care for sickle cell disease between 2010 and 2024, including clinical trials, approved drugs and reviews of existing studies.