Sickle cell emergency unit WON’T stay open despite patient fears of ‘A&E hell’ when pilot ends
Protests are planned as the Royal London Hospital pushes ahead with ending the six-month pilot unit despite public outcry
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The Source Exclusive: Sickle cell emergency unit WON’T stay open despite patient fears of ‘A&E hell’ when pilot ends
A petition to keep the unit open has reached nearly 19,000 signatures with protests planned.
STORY BY MELISSA SIGODO AND ARIKE IDRIS
JANUARY 19, 2026
A ‘lifeline’ sickle cell emergency unit will not stay open despite calls from campaigners and patients who fear ‘going back to A&E hell’ when its pilot ends.
Following a six-month trial, the Royal London Hospital’s Sickle Cell Patients Emergency Care Day Unit in Whitechapel, London, will no longer be available from January 30, 2026, after running for a ‘fixed period’ which has left sickle cell patients and advocates “horrified.”
Sickle cell is a condition that predominantly affects people of African and African-Caribbean origin. The disease produces unusually shaped blood cells which cause painful episodes known as sickle cell crises that require urgent care as complications can be fatal.
However, people with sickle cell have shared distressing experiences of being forced to wait long hours for pain relief in A&E services across the UK, hospital staff lacking knowledge of the disease and numerous cases of patient deaths that could have been prevented, according to a 2021 parliamentary sickle cell report, No One’s Listening.
Recommendations made in the inquiry led to the introduction of an emergency care bypass model at the Royal London Hospital funded by the North East London intergrated care board as part of a pilot where patients who have been treated at the unit say it provides “the best care” from specialist sickle cell staff.
But despite a petition to keep the facility open reaching nearly 18,000 signatures, as well as plans for a protest and the issue being raised in parliament by MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill Bell Ribeiro - The Source understands that the east London hospital won’t be changing their decision to close the unit this month and is now evaluating the trial to “shape future plans.’
Speaking exclusively to The Source, petition organiser Delo Biye, 48, who has the most severe type of the disease, Sickle cell anaemia (Hb SS) says he has been ‘angered’ by the news revealed by The Source, and that even after the sickle cell report, hospitals ‘still aren’t listening.’
The life coach and youth worker who travels 10 miles from Sidcup in south-east London to get to the dedicated emergency unit says that he could now be forced to endure long waiting times of up to 12 hours as he will have go through the accident and emergency departments when experiencing a painful crisis
Delo said: “It’s a huge step backwards and now we’ve got to go through the hell of going to A&E and trying to get the attention of a nurse. Trying to get treatment. You’ve got to fight for that.
“The hospital isn’t listening which is ironic considering the report. It’s a disappointment.
“They’ve not said they’re going to extend it. It’s like, ‘no, we’re going to stick to what we do.’ It makes me angry the more I think about it.
“It’s a horrifying prospect [going back to A&E] and it’s partly why I’ve started this petition in the first place.”
Royal London says that there will be “no change to the routine management of patients with sickle cell” and that their Haematology Day Unit will have extended hours “to help with provision of care.”
However, according to the No One’s Listening report, a lack of coordination in hospitals means haematology units aren’t always informed of sickle cell patient admissions in A&E which results in pain being prolonged.
In a blow to Delo’s campaign, he says that when he attempted to visit the sickle cell facility yesterday after feeling unwell - he discovered it was closed which left him feeling “shortchanged” and worried the pilot had ended early.
Upon visiting today, he says that staff informed him that the reason for the closure was due to “staff sickness.”
Beverly De-Gale, who founded blood cancer and illness charity African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust (ACLT) says that sickle cell isn’t given importance and A&E departments are not equipped to look after sickle cell patients.
In a letter to the MP for Bethnal Green and Stepney, Rushanara Ali, seen by The Source - Beverley asked the politician to intervene stating that Black people mainly affected by the disease “already face longstanding health inequalities and underinvestment in care” and that losing the unit would “deepen disparities.”
But now, following the update that the hospital won’t keep the unit open, Beverley expressed her frustration stating that “sickle cell is not a trial.”
Speaking to The Source, Beverley said: “It’s a big disappointment. Sickle cell is not a trial.
“The petition is growing and I’m reading the comments from family members and other sickle cell warriors who have been through situations where the care has not been great and unfortunately, we are aware of a few of these cases ourselves in our work.
“Unfortunately, we are aware of situations where sickle cell patients were ending up in A&E because of having a crisis and actually being left in A&E for hours upon end whilst they wait to receive treatment.
“A&E units are not equipped to be able to offer them the priority that they need when they are in those situations.”
As well as the founder, Jade Mcghee who works at ACLT stated that by closing the pilot unit, it would be adding a “strain onto the NHS trying to last minute accommodate.”
Sickle cell advocate, Sayo Talabi whose two sisters tragically died of the disease has also lent her voice to Delo’s campaign to have the unit remain open.
The campaigner labelled the closure “atrocious” adding that she is organising a protest to help the “underserved” sickle cell community.
Speaking to The Source, Sayo said: “I’ve already started putting together a team and I’m organising to fight [the closure of the unit] by planning a protest. Several protests.
“It’s atrocious. It’s a matter of public health. We just can’t allow it especially when there are almost 300 babies every year being born with sickle cell. Sickle cell is on the rise. It is the only genetic condition that is on the increase.”
Overall, Delo says he feels that people with sickle cell shouldn’t have to “fight” for a permanent day unit in the first place but that he is prepared to do so.
A spokesperson for Barts Health NHS Trust said: “For around four months, we treated emergency patients with sickle cell disease in a daycare setting, through a trial funded by the North East London integrated care board.
“We are now evaluating that pilot to shape our future plans, but there is no change to the way we manage patients with sickle cell disease apart from extending the opening hours of our Haematology Day Unit to further support their care.”
The Source has contacted MP for Bethnal Green and Stepney, Rushanara Ali for comment.
The Source also contacted the North East London intergrated care board and they referred us to the statement from the Royal London Hospital.
For more information about the petition, click here.