Birmingham Children's Hospital

From 1st April 2007, the Inherited Metabolic Disorders unit at Birmingham Children's Hospital has been designated by NCG (National Specialist Advisory Group) of the Department of Health as a centre for the diagnosis and management of children with Lysosomal Storage Disorders. This is the fourth such designated paediatric centre in addition to the three existing centres at London, Manchester and Cambridge.

The multidisciplinary metabolic team, led by Dr. Anupam Chakrapani and Dr. Suresh Vijay, includes clinical nurse specialists, dietitians, biochemists, administrative staff and a pharmacist with input from several paediatric subspecialties including neurology, ENT, ophthalmology, neurosurgery, orthopaedics, anaesthesiology, nephrology, hepatology and child psychiatry. Long-term care is provided in conjunction with community-based teams and in close liaison with family support organisations. The service will now provide comprehensive national diagnostic and treatment for children with LSDs, including enzyme replacement therapy and bone marrow transplantation.

The team is eagerly looking forward to working with families, family advocacy groups and the other national centres to provide the highest levels of services to children with LSDs in the future.

Who to contact:

Dr Anupam Chakrapani, Head of Clinic: Anupam.Chakrapani@bch.nhs.uk

Dr Suresh Vijay, Consultant Physician:  Suresh.Vijay@bch.nhs.uk

Catherine Stewart, Clinical Nurse Specialist for all LSD patients:  Catherine.Stewart@bch.nhs.uk