OneLondon’s UCP reaches 74% of capital’s sickle cell patients

Almost three-quarters of sickle cell patients who receive care in London now have a Universal Care Plan (UCP), according to OneLondon.

OneLondon’s UCP solution is an integrated care platform powered by Better that enables health and care professionals across London to digitally share patient information.

Initially introduced in July 2022 to support end-of-life and palliative care planning, the UCP has since been expanded to support Londoners with sickle cell disease, diabetes and chronic pain, and dementia, frailty and autism.

According to OneLondon, more than 7,800 sickle cell care plans have been created since March 2024, representing 74% of the estimated 10,500 people in London receiving care for the disease.

Patients can view their UCP on the NHS App or web browser, helping to reassure them that their care plans are communicated correctly to different care teams wherever they are in the capital.

Nick Tigere, head of the UCP programme, said: “It is great that in just a year around three quarters of Londoners with sickle cell now [have] a UCP.

“It is fantastic to hear from frontline staff and patients themselves about how the UCP is helping to ensure they get the right care wherever they are in the capital….our work continues to ensure that every Londoner with sickle cell has a UCP so more people benefit.”

The UCP forms part of wider work aimed at ensuring that people with sickle cell receive the right care, including the ACT NOW campaign introduced in 2024. 

Haematology centres agree care plans with patients which may include information about preventative day to day management, guidance for ward staff and guidance for ambulance and emergency care services during a crisis.

According to OneLondon, patients with sickle cell had their care plans viewed by staff working in urgent care services around 3,400 times over the past year, compared with 570 views during the same period the previous year.

Subarna Chakravorty, consultant in paediatric haematology at Kings College Hospital, said: “The Universal Care Plan has provided Londoners with sickle cell disease with a pain care plan that can be created with the patient and accessed by multiple healthcare professionals, both inside and outside hospital, who are involved in the patient’s journey during an acute painful episode. 

“It is very heartening to see how these care plans are now being used more and more for the benefit of patients.

“It is now vital that there is continued work with frontline staff to reiterate the importance of using the Universal Care Plan to view these patient-agreed pain care plans.”

UCPs can be viewed by staff involved in the patient’s care through the London Care Record, some local electronic patient record (EPR) systems and via a web portal.

It can also be viewed by health and care professionals outside of London using the National Record Locator Service, meaning essential information about a person’s urgent care needs can be accessed anywhere in England.