Working with patients for a brighter future

What sort of impact can patients and staff collectively make on eye clinics, in supporting eye research and in education at Moorfields Eye Hospital and at other eye hospitals across the country? What sort of hospital do we want the new Moorfields to be?

I joined a range of patients, charities, and staff at a Saturday morning workshop on December 12th 2016, brain-storming how we (patients and staff) can collectively improve services at the hospital to make them more patient-centred.

There were six five-minute talks which were filmed, and then a lot of discussion around the ideas that had been raised.

I was there representing BUS, to tell our story, summarized in the illustration below. If you click on the photograph, you will see the drawing in greater detail. It really captures the essence of the workshop. Rather amusingly, you can see me standing on top of the world, under the banner “Forming partnerships” saying “I no longer feel alone.” The drawing, done during the workshop discussions as we spoke, is by a talented artist, Sandra Howgate.

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The team that ran the workshop New citizenship project will be presenting a report to the hospital.

Moorfields is part of the new NHS England Vanguard hospitals collaboration. You can find out more about the Vanguard movement on the Moorfields’ website http://www.moorfields.nhs.uk/news/moorfields-vanguard-new-nhs-hospitals-collaboration-drive

Moorfields charity walk from EyetoEye please sign up and help!

Help raise money for Birdshot research !

We thought it would be fun to get a team together to do the annual Moorfields EyetoEye walk on Sunday March 12th 2017.  After all, there are a lot of birdshotters who get treated at Moorfields and we believe it is great to be able to collaborate with other charity group events, especially if it is going to help promote relevant research.  Moorfield’s Eye Charity plans to have cake and coffee at the end and they are also going to have a live band and a bit of a celebration.  But afterwards, we wondered if we might find a venue close by (pub or cafe??) and have a bit more of an informal meet-up if we feel like it.

We’d love it if we can get 30 or 40 birdshotters walking (family and friends welcome) showing our support and enthusiasm for more research for birdshot.

So, our team is called “Birdshot.

You can sign up online https://www.moorfieldseyecharity.org.uk/eye-eye or if you prefer, you can pick up a registration form in the hospital which can then be returned to their office in an attached Freepost envelope. If you can’t find these in the hospital, Gaby in the Moorfields Eye Charity office is the person to go and find.  You may also see Gaby visiting the clinics, as part of her job is to go and meet patients.

Birdshotters can choose to walk either the 4-mile or 14-mile route according to fitness and preferences. Gaby has promised to let us have similar start times so that we can walk together, and that will also allow us to be able to get a great group photo before we set off.

4 miles – £12 to register

14 miles – £18 to register

There is no minimum sponsorship requirement: just raise as much as you can. You also get a free T-shirt and goodies at the end, but we will supply BUS T-shirts for all our walkers.

The times of the walk vary from 7.30am – 12 midday. I think we should go for a mid-morning time slot, eg, 11am, but I am open to suggestions.

If you want to take part, please sign up as directed above, but also drop me a line to let BUS know.  Here’s hoping for a sunny Sunday on 12th March!

Annie

Survey for prospective uveitis trial – help required

If you suffer from birdshot, or some other form of posterior uveitis (idiopathic, sarcoidosis, PIC, scleritis, etc) you may like to take part in this survey about a prospective uveitis trial for adalimumab in which Birdshot Uveitis Society are involved and trying to get funded. Your input as a patient is very important and we would really appreciate your help. To do so, follow the link below. There are only 8 short questions. Your response is anonymised and there is no need to leave an email address if you don’t want to. It would be most helpful if you say the country where you live. Thank you so much in advance.

https://qtrial2011.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe2/form/SV_e4jh8nDnKVLTZmB

If you prefer to fill in a paper survey you will find a link to a pdf here which you can download, print and fill in with a pen or as a PDF, whichever you prefer. PDF link.

Please return your responses either by email to info@birdshot.org.uk or by post to PO Box 64996, London SW20 2BL.

Individual funding request – a call for help!

Have you and your consultant tried and failed to get access to a much-needed birdshot uveitis treatment, such as the biologic treatments adalimumab or infliximab?

If so, this is a call for help directed to English and Welsh birdshotters who have tried unsuccessfully to gain approval to use these specialised treatments through Individual Funding Requests (IFRs). Currently, IFRs are the only way that we can hope to receive these treatments. We believe that the present situation is that nearly all IFRs are being turned down.

NHS England is currently consulting on four of its ‘generic’ policies. These are policies to commission treatments outside the normal annual commissioning cycle. We need to influence this process.

Genetic Alliance UK wants to submit a response to the NHS consultation that truly represents the experiences of the rare and genetic disease community.

Please tell us about your funding experiences via the following link that takes you to Genetic Alliance UK’s short survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/IFRcallforevidence

Thank you.

 

 

Flu vaccination – stay well this winter

We were reminded by an email that arrived in the BUS in-box this week that it is once again time in the UK to get your flu jab:

‘You may have seen that the latest NHS Stay Well This Winter campaign has launched which encourages vulnerable people including those with long-term health conditions, anyone aged over 65 and their carers to get the free flu jab.

As you may be aware, flu is a highly infectious disease and can lead to serious complications if you have a long-term health condition like: COPD; bronchitis, emphysema; diabetes; heart, kidney or liver disease or have suffered a stroke. We are particularly trying to reach people with these conditions as flu on top of health conditions like these can easily develop into something very serious and could land you in hospital. People with these and other long-term health conditions are eligible for a free flu jab through their GP or pharmacist’.

The campaign leads with the message: ’If you are eligible for the flu vaccine get it now – it’s free because you need it. Contact your GP or pharmacist to the get the flu jab.’

As well as the categories of ‘long-term health conditions, anyone aged over 65 and their carers,’ if you are on immunosuppressant treatment, including oral steroids, at any age, this places you in a priority group for the free flu jab.

In UK and many other countries, the injectable flu vaccine is an ‘inactivated’ vaccine, so it can be safely given to people taking immunosuppressants. However, in UK, there is also a ‘live’ flu vaccine which is given to children via the nose, and this should not be given to anyone who is immunosuppressed.

Further information can be found on the campaign website at nhs.uk/staywell.

A BSL version of the leaflet has also been produced which can be viewed on YouTube at: SWTWBSLleaflet

Beer festival and a 52 mile walk to fundraise for birdshot

BUS members’ October fundraising
Birdshot beer bash

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Clare Wood from Newcastle held a beer festival for us, and above and below are a few pictures that set the scene.  By all accounts it was a very jolly occasion for fellow birdies, their friends and families and work colleagues.

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Birdshot helpers

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Birdshot bar staff

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

Here is a message from Clare:   “Just a quick update on the fundraising beer festival. We are now at £2833 which is fab. Thanks to Sharron, Barrie, Debbie, Annie, and David and Carly for their help with prizes, flags and designs. Ella (my daughter) also raised £600 doing the Great North Run recently.”

BUS hopes that this might become an annual event, like the Birdshot Shoot.  Despite the massive amount of work Clare put in organising it, she has already said she will be in touch next year when (we hope) she may do another one!

52 miles for Birdshot

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Barrie Standish and his friend John are two keen fitness fanatics in the North West of England who thought they could easily manage a 52-mile stroll for birdshot.  The aim was to promote the eye condition and raise a bit of money along the way.

On Friday October 21st, just after lunch, they set off on their route.  They walked from Glazebury, going through Lymm, Knutsford and Holmes Chapel. They walked 26 miles out and returned the same way. They set off at a brisk pace, and by evening time it was obvious that they would be walking through the night.  It was not as easy as they had imagined.

The following morning at 6.02am, Barrie’s wife Debs reported on Facebook:  “He is home now and tucked up in bed. His words: NEVER AGAIN…. So proud of them. Thank you to all who have sponsored for this amazing achievement…He will suffer when he tries to get out of the bed.  I am sure there could be less challenging ways, but that’s Barrie!”

Barrie commented afterwards to his birdshot friends who had supported him online through the night: “Thank you so much for all your support and donations, really, really appreciated your well wishes, it went a long way in helping us keep going through the night. I can honestly say that I have never done anything that hard in my life! We had to dig deep and then find some more from somewhere. The last seven hours were purgatory. John lost the skin on both feet and toes, and I’ve got away with 3 blisters.  My legs are absolutely battered, I’m lying on the couch not knowing what to do with myself, it’s the tendons at the backs of my knees, I can’t straighten them properly, walking around like Max Wall.  Never ever again.”

But we say: watch this space!

Barrie raised nearly £1,000 from his walk which is a fantastic total.

What a fabulous couple of fundraising events from the north of England! Thank you all for your great efforts. BUS will be putting all the money raised from these two events towards future birdshot research.

Sight Village 1st – 2nd November 2016, in London

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For those in the London UK area: Sight Village returns to London this November.  This is the publicity blurb that we recieved recently which you can down load and print off.

The popular two day event takes place at Kensington Town Hall on 1st and 2nd November. Doors open at 10am until 3pm and entry is free!

Sight Village is the UK’s leading exhibition for blind and partially sighted people and for those experiencing age related sight problems. It brings together leading providers of products and services all under one roof.

We recommend that all visitors pre-register to attend the event by following the link below. If you are unable to do this, please call a member of the team on 0121 428 5041 and we will be happy to complete this for you.

Please pass on the information about the event to service users and anyone who may benefit from visiting the event.

Better options for treating Birdshot

New research funding partnership between Fight for Sight and Birdshot Uveitis Society

Birdshot uveitis is a rare autoimmune disorder that has the potential to blind. It’s notoriously hard to treat. The UK’s main eye research charity Fight for Sight is partnering with Birdshot Uveitis Society to try to change that with new grants to researchers in London and Birmingham, to fund pioneering research that could lead to better treatments.

In birdshot, which is strongly linked to the gene HLA-A29, the immune system attacks two critical structures at the back of the eye: the retina and the choroid. The retina contains the photoreceptor cells that detect light and send visual signals to the brain, while the choroid is a layer of blood vessels that supplies the retina with oxygen and nutrition. When this supply is interrupted as during an inflammatory immune response, the photoreceptors can’t function normally.

Current options for treatment are limited to steroids and drugs to suppress the immune system. However in the long term these can cause sight-threatening complications such as cataract and glaucoma. We need some better options.

Stem cells from patients

Dr Anai Gonzalez Cordero at UCL Institute of Ophthalmology is leading one of the two new studies. The team will study a layer of cells in the retina called the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) in tissue developed from birdshot patient stem cells.

“Subtle changes to RPE can be seen in some patients during the early stages of birdshot. This is not an obvious feature of the condition but current examination methods are limited, identifying only severe dysfunction,” says Dr Gonzalez Cordero.

“We do know that RPE can modulate the choroid and that RPE cells show HLA-A29 gene activity. Almost everyone with birdshot has a particular variation of this gene. Post-mortem tissue from birdshot patients is both scarce and unsuitable for detailed analysis. However we can develop mature RPE in the lab from stem cells derived from blood of living patients. This will allow us to explore the role of RPE in detail as well as providing a much-needed test bed for future treatments that can also be used by other researchers in the field.”

Iron overload is treatable

Dr Graham Wallace at the University of Birmingham will lead the second study. Here the focus is on genetic control of iron levels in birdshot.

“Iron is essential in the retina for photoreceptor cell function and is generally controlled by iron-regulating proteins. However free iron is highly toxic for photoreceptors, leading to an increase in oxidative stress. Iron is also involved in inflammation as it is essential for the proliferation of immune cells,” says Dr Wallace.

“Given a recent association between HLA-A29 and HFE H63D – a gene implicated in patients with iron overload – we think this could be an important route to explore with regard to birdshot. Iron overload is treatable and so may give us other options.”

Dr Dolores Conroy is Fight for Sight’s Director of Research. She says: “Understanding the root causes of birdshot is ultimately what will lead us to targeted, effective treatments. The Sight Loss and Vision Priority Setting Partnership tells us that this is what’s important to patients and so we are delighted to partner with Birdshot Uveitis Society to see the priorities addressed.”

Annie Folkard, a founder of the Birdshot Uveitis Society, said: “We are excited to support this innovative research. Studies likes these give our members great hope that in the future, improvements will be made to the current toxic treatments. Maybe even a cure will be found.”

Treatment with adalimumab (Humira®) now available in Wales

There is progress in Wales regarding an interim policy, published October 2016, for adalimumab (Humira®) for the treatment of adult patients with severe refractory non-infectious uveitis.

You can access the full Welsh interim policy at the link below.

Interim policy for treatment of adult patients in Wales with severe refractory non-infectious uveitis

The big question is: when is England going to catch up with Wales and Scotland (and the rest of the world)?

We were told, back in October 2015, that the published results of the VISUAL 1 and VISUAL 11  studies were required to permit the use of adalimumab to treat severe refractory non-infectious uveitis. Both sets of results are now available. We have been waiting patiently, but NHS England appears to be putting up a road block and looking for excuses for further delays.

NHS England has not yet responded to a jointly-signed letter on this subject, sent some weeks ago from ourselves (BUS), RNIB, Fight for Sight and Olivia’s Vision. There is also no sign of anyone at NHS England taking any notice of the desperate plight that a few of our members who need adalimumab treatment have had to endure for a considerable period of time. Meanwhile, their sight is continuing to deteriorate.

This is a most unsatisfactory state of affairs. BUS will continue to update you on the situation.

 

Invitation to UK Birdshot Summer Social

As before, this event will be taking place on the beautiful Thames Sailing Barge  ‘Phoenician’ which is situated in St Katharine’s Dock, immediately adjacent to Tower Bridge, London. You are free to drop in at any point during the day, but make sure you are there in time for our speaker at 2.00pm whom we are certain you will not want to miss.

Victoria Makepeace, a member of the Birdshot Society, will give a short talk on nutritional therapy in relation to immune suppressants and Birdshot.  Victoria is a nutritionist and nutritional therapist who just happens to have Birdshot, so it is a subject in which she is very interested and which she has researched in depth for herself.   She will be happy to answer any questions you may have.   You can find out more about Victoria on her website:  http://www.vmwnutrition.co.uk/index.htm

As usual, we will be serving drinks and finger food and providing a place where you can chat to others with Birdshot, exchange ideas and information and be part of the Society.

We are extremely fortunate that the interesting and unusual venue for this event is provided by Board member and trustee John Hall. We do hope that as many of you who can easily travel to London and who would like to meet others with Birdshot are able to join us.

We are suggesting a donation of £20 per person for the event, but it will be free of charge to members on benefits or low wage.

Please RSVP to annie@birdshot.org.uk to let us know you will be coming so that we have some idea of the likely numbers.