Psychological social support
We work to empower and support patients to manage stress and problematic family issues, as we accept this is critical to the management of people with long term conditions. We also collaborate with patients to promote adherence to long term medications and a healthy lifestyle. The key to achieving this is to engage the support of psychologists who understand the issues around haemoglobinopathies and these experienced psychologists complement our adult and paediatric teams.
Aleda Erskine
Aleda Erskine is a consultant clinical health psychologist with a longstanding interest in the holistic treatment of thalassaemia and sickle cell disorders and a member of the Whittington multidisciplinary team. Camden and Islington Mental Health and Social Care Trust employ Aleda, her expertise enables the team to work effectively and maximises the use of team members’ expertise. She also provides the team with guidance and support for achieving behaviour or policy change in a way that is sensitive and non-threatening for staff and patients.
Dr Sarah Lunn
Sarah Lunn works as a clinical psychologist in Camden and Islington Mental Health and Social Care Trust. She joined the Paediatric Haematology team in October 2005 and works two sessions per week in this post. Other work includes Pain Management at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery.
Solomon Osinde
Solomon holds a BA in social work and social administration, an MSc in public health and is registered with the General Social Care Council as a qualified social worker. He joined the Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Centre in 2007, as a senior practitioner. He has substantial experience of working with service users’ support groups, empowering and enabling service users to maintain their independence in the community.
Last updated04 Mar 2008