Plans

Our Long-Term Plan to Transform Sickle Cell Care and End Inherited Transmission

Sicklekan’s long-term vision is to move beyond crisis response and toward system-level solutions that improve outcomes for people living with sickle cell disease today, while investing in the technologies that will prevent the condition from being passed down future bloodlines.

1. A Dedicated Sickle Cell Hospital Ward

We plan to develop a specialist hospital ward dedicated exclusively to sickle cell patients, designed around their unique clinical and emotional needs. Too often, people with sickle cell experience delayed pain relief, misunderstanding, and substandard care in general wards. A dedicated unit would bring together specialist clinicians, pain management protocols, psychological support, and continuity of care under one roof.

This ward would prioritise rapid pain management, infection control, transfusion services, and holistic recovery, creating a safer and more dignified environment that reduces complications, readmissions, and avoidable trauma.

2. Technology-Enabled Care and Patient Monitoring

Technology will be central to this model. We aim to deploy digital health tools that allow patients to track symptoms, pain episodes, medication adherence, and early warning signs from home. Secure data systems would support clinicians in making faster, more informed decisions, while empowering patients to better understand and manage their condition.

By integrating technology into care pathways, we can shift from reactive treatment to predictive and preventative care, reducing emergency admissions and improving long-term quality of life.

3. A 24/7 Sickle Cell Helpline

Sicklekan plans to establish a 24/7 specialist helpline staffed by trained advisors with lived experience and clinical knowledge of sickle cell disease. The helpline would provide immediate guidance during pain crises, hospital admissions, mental health distress, or social emergencies.

For many patients, knowing someone will answer the phone — someone who understands sickle cell — can prevent crises from escalating and reduce isolation, fear, and unnecessary A&E attendance.

4. Research and Development for Future Eradication

Alongside care and support, Sicklekan is committed to research and development aimed at breaking the inherited cycle of sickle cell disease. This includes supporting research into gene-based therapies, early screening, genetic counselling, and innovative treatments that reduce or eliminate disease transmission.

While full eradication requires global collaboration and ethical oversight, investing in research today is essential to ensure that future generations are not born into preventable suffering.

5. A Holistic, Generational Approach

This plan represents a generational approach to sickle cell disease — caring for those living with it now, strengthening systems that protect patients and families, and investing in the science that will one day make the disease obsolete.

Sicklekan’s ambition is not only to save lives, but to restore dignity, reduce inequality, and change the future of sickle cell disease forever.