Sickle: A Sickle Crisis? (2008) info@ncepod.org
The National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD)
published a report in May 2008 which showed that within the 2 years January
1 2005 to December 31 2006 “Nine out of the 19 patients with sickle cell
disease who had pain on admission and who then died had been given
excessiove doses of opiods”.
The International response to this revelation was huge – see
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/eletters/336/7654/1152-a#196224 and the subsequent 9
other comments.
Later, on 9 July 2008 in the House of Commons, another report was published
called “The Standards for The Clinical Care of Adults with Sickle Cell
Disease in the UK”. The Chairman of the Group that produced the report
described the present care of patients in the UK as a “hit and miss affair
depending on the attitudes and experience of health professionals”. Dr
Konotey-Ahulu's reaction to this in the British Medical Journal on line is
reproduced in full below
http://www.bmj.com/gi/eletters/337/jul11_2/a771