GOSH is awarded a LUPUS UK Centre of Excellence for Children & Young People

During a ceremony held virtually on Wednesday, 24 February, the hospital was recognised for its world-class service where patients are seen as people first, and each child and parent is treated with dignity, by staff who are dedicated to helping them live their healthiest lives.

Speaking at the award ceremony, Matthew Shaw, Chief Executive of GOSH said: “This award is testament to the dedication of the team who work tirelessly to help our children and young people fulfil their potential. It is much deserved and the service continues to grow from strength to strength. It is currently undertaking research into new treatment options that we hope will make a huge difference to the lives of these children.”

The Centre of Excellence scheme is designed to recognise and reward specialist lupus clinics that offer a high quality of care for people with lupus and to ensure that these standards are maintained. This is an important recognition for our lupus service.

Yesterday’s ceremony was attended by members of Lupus UK, including their Chief Executive, Paul Howard, who said: “When I visited GOSH, it was great to see first-hand the wonderful service that the clinical team provides to its young patients. Although we named a the hospital a Centre of Excellence last year, it gives us great pleasure to finally celebrate this team of doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, psychologists, play specialists, and more who put patients and families right at the heart of everything they do.”

Yvonne Norton, who is a Vice-Chair & Trustee, Hon Life Vice-President and Centre of Excellence Lead at Lupus UK said: "It was good to be able to officially present a LUPUS UK Centre of Excellence plaque to GOSH.

On visiting, I was blown away, not only by the first-class medical facilities with its cutting edge technology but with the approach of all members of staff to the young people in their care, their families and, indeed, to other members of the Lupus Team. The atmosphere on the wards was of warmth, security and caring.

If I was a young person with lupus, I would want to be treated by the Lupus Team at GOSH!"

GOSH has the largest and oldest paediatric Lupus service in the UK, dating back to 1999, and currently treats one of the largest cohorts of patients with the condition. We have over 270 patients with lupus, overlap connective tissue diseases, or who are being monitored for evolving lupus symptoms.

GOSH provides a highly specialist service for patients with lupus, which works within the general rheumatology service, but also links in with other departments including dermatology, nephrology, neurology, ophthalmology and cardiology to name a few. With more than 60 clinical specialties under one roof GOSH is exceptionally placed to treat children with complex conditions such as this.

The trust has the largest paediatric rheumatology department in Europe and together with UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (ICH), it is pioneering research into paediatric rheumatic conditions to help improve the lives of these patients. The team works in partnership with patients and their families to deliver a holistic care package.

Speaking of the award, Elena Moraitis, consultant in paediatric rheumatology said: “We were delighted to hear that our efforts to provide an outstanding quality of care and patient experience for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus had been recognised by LUPUS UK. The Centre of Excellence status acknowledges a huge amount of work from many dedicated members of the multidisciplinary team at GOSH to provide the best quality of care for the patients with lupus, and our key role in a growing number of research studies. At the centre of our carefully thought model to deliver care is a young person whose life hopefully we can improve. And together with LUPUS UK we will continue to do it better.”

Yvonne Glackin, clinical nurse specialist in rheumatology, also said: “I am delighted that the care that GOSH give to our Young People with Lupus has been recognised by this Centre of Excellence Award. Working together with colleagues, families, young people and Lupus UK we aim to provide the best care and a brighter future for our patients.”

Abida, one of the patients who attended the event said: "I have been coming to GOSH for many years and I'm really grateful for the care I've received here. It's been a tough journey and sometimes I've felt worried and frustrated because of my condition. Each time, I've been at GOSH though, I've felt cared for.

“The special thing about the rheumatology team is that they take the time to listen and really understand how I feel. I know it's a long road to help me manage having Lupus, but I feel like I have a real support network at GOSH to help me through this."