Several hospitals are known for providing particularly excellent care to people experiencing a sickle cell crisis.  For example, the ER at UHN meets a key recommendation from the 2017 Ontario Clinical Handbook that patients receive analgesia within  30 minutes of triage. The handbook also recommends that centres support patients’ individual coping strategies through ready access to food, phone chargers and blankets.

Many ERs are not meeting this standard. A general lack of awareness about sickle cell disease among physicians, misplaced suspicion about drug-seeking and other biases lead to lengthy delays in patients receiving treatment.

On today’s episode, Drs Bigham and Omole speak with Dr. Jennifer Bryan, a founding member of the UHN Emergency Department Sickle Cell Working Group, an emergency physician at UHN and the co-chair of the 2022 Sickle Cell Summit being organized by the Sickle Cell Awareness Group in Ontario.

They also speak with Lance Archer, a patient and sickle cell disease advocate about his varied experiences seeking care for painful flare-ups. 

These interviews prompt a spirited, impromptu “M&M round” in the discussion between the co-hosts as Dr. Bigham reflects on a recent experience of treating a patient with sickle cell disease in an overly-busy ER. 

CMAJ

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