Dear Alpha-1 Patients,
We have repeatedly noticed that there still appears to exist confusion about the status of ADAPT and the available options for Alphas to receive specialist care in the NHS. We would like to clarify the situation.
ADAPT has always been a largely industry-funded research programme with no formal links to the NHS. There is no NHS process which allows the “transfer” of patients from a research programme, eg. ADAPT, to an NHS service, eg. specialist Alpha-1 clinics.
It is important to understand that every patient who has been attending ADAPT or any other research programme is free to choose where they want to attend specialist Alpha-1 NHS clinics – an automatic ‘transfer’ to a particular NHS service by a local doctor without prior discussion with the patient about their preferred choice is not appropriate.
You and your local doctor should be aware of the available choice that now exists in the NHS for Alpha-1 patients: specialist multidisciplinary NHS clinics are operational, for example, at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, at the Royal Free Hospital in London and, as part of the new West Midlands Specialist NHS Alpha-1 Service, at the University Hospital in Coventry and at the University Hospital in Birmingham. All these centres have the necessary expertise and experience to provide optimal care for Alphas.
Please read the front page article of our latest Newsletter for detailed information about the differences between attending research programmes and NHS clinics, and about some (but not all) of the available specialist NHS Alpha-1 clinics in England and how to get referred there (include link to the newsletter).
It is important that you are fully aware of the available options in order to make an informed choice about your care!
If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us via Facebook the Yahoo Group or info@alpha1.org.uk
Board of Trustees
Alpha-1 UK Support Group
Published: 27/09/2015