Our services
At Barts and The London Cystic Fibrosis Centre for adults, we offer both inpatient and outpatient services.
Staying in hospital
We have an inpatient Cystic Fibrosis Unit (the Jack Turner Adult Cystic Fibrosis Unit) which contains 6 single rooms, a nursing area, treatment area, kitchen, laundry facilities and an exercise/entertainment room.
Each room contains a single bed, with locker, fridge, and TV (with freeview and computer connection capabilities). Two single rooms also have ensuite facilities. There is a facility to occupy up to 3 additional single rooms on the respiratory ward, if necessary. Inpatients are looked after by highly trained respiratory nurses, with support from the cystic fibrosis nurse specialists. Respiratory doctors in training assist the cystic fibrosis consultant and cystic fibrosis team with inpatient care.
As part of a large teaching hospital trust, we also have access to all specialists necessary for a comprehensive cystic fibrosis service; we have links with specialists in most disciplines, all of whom have experience in cystic fibrosis.
Visiting hospital - outpatient clinics
In addition to the usual multidisciplinary cystic fibrosis clinics, we run monthly cystic fibrosis-related diabetes clinics, 4-monthly cystic fibrosis liver disease clinics and 6-monthly cystic fibrosis arthritis clinics (new in 2008).
Each specialist clinic has a visiting specialist, often a specialist nurse, within a standard cystic fibrosis clinic, to minimise the number of additional clinics these patients might otherwise need to attend.
In addition to the usual inpatient care, we offer an onsite portacath insertion service for those who need vascular access. Vascular access is a catheter that is placed inside a large vein, which can stay for a long period of time, to allow intravenous treatment including home IV antibiotics.
We offer radiologic insertion of gastrostomy buttons at The Royal London Hospital. Cystic fibrosis patients who are underweight may need to be fitted with a gastrostomy button to administer feeds. The buttons are small, low profile devices that are inserted into the stomach and allow overnight liquid feeds (e.g Ensure™) to provide extra calories that are needed to gain or maintain weight.
Outreach clinics
As our patients live over a wide geographical area, we also do outreach clinics which the entire cystic fibrosis team attends with a local respiratory physician who has an interest in cystic fibrosis.
These occur at monthly intervals at Southend Hospital and Canvey Island outpatient clinic, and at 3-monthly intervals at Colchester General Hospital and Whipps Cross Hospital, Leytonstone.
We also share Transition Clinics (for children who are transfering to adult services) with Barts and The London Children's Hospital, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Whipps Cross Hospital, Colchester General Hospital and Southend Hospital.
