Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the accessibility of other Sickle Cell Day units in the context of the closure of the Whitechapel unit.

The same day emergency care pilot for sickle cell patients at the Royal London Hospital was commissioned locally, via the NHS North East London Integrated Care Board. The pilot finished in January 2026 as planned. The pilot was testing an alternative route for treating emergency patients with sickle cell disease who were experiencing acute pain. This was alongside the normal route of being treated through accident and emergency, which patients can still access. During the pilot, the trust has gathered internal evaluation data to monitor the impact of the pilot for patients locally, allowing them to plan for the delivery of future sickle cell services. Although NHS England did not commission this pilot, they remain committed to the reducing health inequalities faced by people living with sickle cell and will continue to work in collaboration with system partners to address these inequalities through evidence-based approach.

Sickle cell disease patients still receive specialist care through the Haematology Day Unit at the Royal London Hospital, and this remains open. There has been no change for patients with regards to routine or emergency management of their condition. There are several innovations in the sickle cell service currently being implemented such as the expansion of the red cell exchange transfusion service and the delivery of novel curative gene therapies.