Tertiary refferal centres?

Hey

does anybody know where in the uk there are asthma tertiary refferal centres other than rbh/heartland...

thanks

Emma x

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Remind me again where you are based?

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*answers on behalf of Emz :P*

Leicester

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So Heartlands Birmingham would be the nearest. Southampton, Leeds (new one either just started or coming soon), Manchester, Edinburgh and Belfast are the big ones I have heard about.

Bex

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A bit far from home, but Prof Jon Ayres, who used to work at Birmingham Heartlands, is now at Aberdeen. I am not sure if it counts as a tertiary referral centre, but he is certainly a specialist in brittle or difficult asthma (and all round lovely and approachable bloke).

Nearer to home:

At Queens in Nottingham, we have Prof Ian Hall, who is a previous National Asthma Campaign Lecturer and again has a huge amount of experience in brittle and difficult asthma (and is another all round lovely approachable person).

Dr Adel Mansur is based at Heartlands, Birmingham, and he is eperienced in difficult asthma and has a really well set up clinic with a wealth of other healthcare professionals involved (or did... my information may be a few years out of date). He's also a really nice bloke. They seem to have a very proactive approach when it comes to tests, at Heartlands.

At Leicester itself there is Prof Ian Pavord at the Institute for Lung Health at the University of Leicester and Glenfields Hospital. He currently has AUK funding for research (asthma.org.uk/how_we_help/f...

I've heard that he too is a great bloke, although I can't vouch for him personally.

Did Bex mention Southampton, too? Prof Stephen Holgate, who has a very long track record of interest in difficult asthma.

Personally I would recommend picking someone nearish to home, as you can't beat having someone 'on the ground' when you are unwell. Management from a distance can be made to work, but it is always more difficult and stressful, as I am sure others will attest!

Hope this helps and you have some luck.

Em H

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Hey me,

as others have said there are a few. Buti would go near to home. i ahve had experience of long distance and short distance doctoring (if that is a term!!) from specialsit centres.

emh your right prof jon ayres is now at aberdeen he is a great guy. i ahve methim a few times when he has been in the edinburgh hospital but that was only briefly.

heartlands is probably your closest and as has a good reputation i ahve no experience with them.

southampton is really good my care was loke after from there until febuary. there are a quite a few specialist asthma cons and difficult airways things. they do alot of research down there so are really up to date with what they are doing. i was very impressed with them as the guy i saw would travel to the hospital i was in as long as it wasnt too far away. he travelled an hour a half once and came in every two days to see how things were. couldnt ask for much better service than that!!!!

i am sure if you spoke to a asthma nurse at your gps practice or at the hospital they may be able to help and give you some more feedback bout what would suit you etc.

hope this helps

olive

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Edinburgh doesn't have anyone with a reputation for difficult asthma and certainly wasn't very good when I was there (the Western were ok the Royal awful)

Lots of places closer to you but Jon Ayres is fantastic, but I suppose too far for you - he is in Aberdeen and I want to keep him here!

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Ah yes for Edinburgh read Aberdeen, I was getting my Scottish cities muddled. Sorry to those North of the Boarder.

Bex

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edinburgh now has prof greening who deals in brittle asthma. he works from the western. he deals with young cf and brittle asthma patients and has a team based there aswell.

but yes the royal are rubbish.

olive

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Hi

I've seen Prof Pavord at glenfield Leicester. He is very good, very patient and determined to help. I also saw Prof Waldon (think that was his name) there, they run the difficult asthma clinic, he too was fantastic, more approachable than Prof Pavord.

Glenfield..highly recommended

Truly x

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birmingham Heartlands are wonderfull and such a shame that Prof Ayres has now left, I always had excellent treatment there if that helps! and I did travel from Milton keynes to see him at the time.

Snowy

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I can thoroughly recommend the ‘thinking out of a box’ Southampton experts.

Prof. Stephen Holgate is both a compassionate as well as clinical world expert in asthma. Both qualities have helped me as his patient and in a medical sense. Just wished him and his team could be transported and transplanted to where I live.

But it is far more convenient and less complicated to be treated and monitored closer to home.

Emma can also recommend the Glenfield/ Leicester gang. They are almost – but not quite(!) in my humble forty year plus of suffering from severe asthma opinion -as good as the Soton one, and include Profs Pavord and Wardlaw – think I got the spelling right Truly - very approachable people.

An intensive approach to diagnostic assessment and no punches spared re subsequent outcomes has helped counter my sort of stubborn personality re head in the sand ‘wish you were here’ (but not quite) mentality and no longer spring chicken. Plus they have a sense of humour! Much better than former county hospital doom and gloom merchants.

Finally, and obviously the RBH, -remember as a late teenager a long time ago. Were always very thorough but safe. They did encourage me to keep exercising though, and it’s thanks to those docs I kept up with school cross country running, and later on long distance running and a return to study.

Mia