About the acronym

The acronym is in response to the recommendations and challenges highlighted in the ‘No One’s Listening report‘. The report identified avoidable deaths and failures of care for sickle cell patients.

We needed to address these challenges and NHS England – London region held a learning event in response. Participants from across the country representing clinicians, patients, carers and commissioners identified the need to develop an acronym to respond to the sickle cell patient in crisis.

The acronym has been developed collaboratively with clinical experts and patients. It supports a rapid and effective response to a sickle cell crisis.

The acronym is being piloted across 17 sites in four regions across England. The acronym will be focused in emergency departments, by-pass units, relevant acute wards and London Ambulance Service.

The sites will support formal evaluation of ACT NOW to ensure impact and effectiveness. This will include staff surveys, audits and focus groups. We are working in collaboration with the Sickle Cell Society, Haemoglobinopathy Coordinating Centre (HCC) Networks and the NHS England Health Inequalities Team.

The aim of ACT NOW is to improve patient experience and clinical outcomes for adults and children experiencing a sickle cell crisis.

Key learning materials

To help colleagues gauge a better understanding of sickle cell, learning resources for clinical colleagues are available to view and access below.

• Bitesize learning on sickle cell disorder from The Red Cell Network (NCL and East Anglia HCC)
• Sickle cell disease: A tool for acute admissions from King’s Health Partners (KHP)
• The ACT NOW acronym is included in the Royal College of Emergency Medicine’s best practice guidance.

Links to external information and resources

Resources to support the rollout of the ACT NOW acronym including key messages, posters and social media assets can be found on FutureNHS. All EDs, by-pass units, relevant acute wards, ambulance services and networks are welcome to use the assets.

Additional resources are also available from the Sickle Cell Society to support the implementation of the acronym and how it will benefit patients in sickle cell crisis.