22 October 2009
Doctors, nurses and other staff from the Trust's paediatric (children's) cystic fibrosis centre are celebrating following the publication of a new study by the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.
Cystic fibrosis is a progressive disease which affects vital organs in the body, in particular the lungs and the digestive system, by clogging them with thick, sticky mucus. There are over 8,000 registered cystic fibrosis patients in the UK.
Although there is not yet a cure, active management to treat and prevent lung infections, along with good nutrition, improves the longer term prognosis for people with the condition.
The condition can be diagnosed soon after birth by the Trust's newborn screening programme, and the team care for patients well into their adolescent years.
The types of treatments the Trust offers to its patients includes regular chest physiotherapy, antibiotics and digestive enzyme supplements, mostly on an outpatient basis. However, patients are admitted to the children's ward for inpatient care whenever there is a need for more intensive treatment of their lung infections.
The Cystic Fibrosis Trust report, which is compiled using data from the national cystic fibrosis database, ranks the Trust as providing one of the best services in the country for maintaining lung function of its child patients.
Lung function is assessed using a measurement called FEV1, which measures the volume exhaled during the first second of a forced exhalation.
The average FEV1 of patients treated at the Trust was over 90% of that predicted for healthy children of the same age, ranking the centre in the top 10 paediatric cystic fibrosis centres.
Dr Richard Chavasse is a consultant paediatrician and leads the Trust's cystic fibrosis centre. He said: "We are very proud of these results. We are a small centre but it reflects the good care that we are able to provide for the children in our area.
"Maintaining good lung function is directly linked to the long-term wellbeing of people with cystic fibrosis. We will continue to try and improve our service to achieve even better results in the future."
Someone who has benefitted from the team's expertise is local mother Siobhan Foster. Siobhan has four children, three of whom have cystic fibrosis: Kayleigh and Sian, 19, and Thomas, 16. They have all attended the cystic fibrosis centre, which is based in the Queen Mary's Hospital for Children (part of St Helier Hospital) since they were born.
She said: "We are so spoilt at Queen Mary's. The cystic fibrosis team are truly excellent. You always know who to contact, whether it's about their diet, medicine or physio, and they have a psychologist on hand too. My children have had to go into hospital every two months for years, and the service over that time has been exemplary. I couldn't ask for more.
"It's not easy, and the challenges vary from day-to-day, but the team are always there and I always have someone to call. The staff are amazing. As far as I'm concerned, it's the best children's hospital in London."
