Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

If you do not live locally to University College Hospital and share care with a local rheumatology service or paediatric service you should make contact with them in the first instance. It is important that your local team is a central part of your care, and we think it is important that local teams are involved in day to day decisions. We are very happy to work closely with other teams and provide specific advice when requested.

We prefer to talk directly to the young person rather than to parents or third parties, so that they develop the skills to look after their health needs. If your child is 16 years or older and sends us written consent (e.g. via an email to the department or via a letter) then with their permission we can discuss a particular issue.

Please email our Adolescent Rheumatology Coordinator on UCLH.rheumatology@nhs.net or UCLH.adolescentrheumatologyteam@nhs.net who will make sure your message is passed on to our clinical team. If you do not live locally to University College Hospital and share care with a local rheumatology service or paediatric service you should make contact with them in the first instance.

Please email our adolescent rheumatology coordinator on UCLH.rheumatology@nhs.net  or UCLH.adolescentrheumatologyteam@nhs.net  who will make sure your message is passed on to our clinical team. If you do not live locally to University College Hospital and share care with a local rheumatology service or paediatric service you should make contact with them in the first instance.

Please email our adolescent rheumatology coordinator on UCLH.rheumatology@nhs.net  or UCLH.adolescentrheumatologyteam@nhs.net  who will make sure your message is passed on to our clinical team. If you do not live locally to University College Hospital and share care with a local rheumatology service or paediatric service you should make contact with them in the first instance.

For outpatients, call the UCLH appointments line on 0203 447 9393 or email our adolescent rheumatology coordinator on UCLH.rheumatology@nhs.net or UCLH.adolescentrheumatologyteam@nhs.net who will forward your message to the appropriate member of the team.Someone will get back to you, usually within 2 working days.

If you need to contact T11 daycare directly (e.g. on the day of your appointment), please call 020 3697 1181 or 020 3697 1100. The direct number for T12 ward is 020 3447 1281. If you are due to be admitted to T12, please call early in the morning on the day of your admission to check there is a bed available for you.

Some blood test results are released automatically via the MyChart App. Please check this first before contacting us about results. Otherwise email our adolescent rheumatology coordinator on UCLH.rheumatology@nhs.net or UCLH.adolescentrheumatologyteam@nhs.net We will try to get back to you, usually within two working days.

Please email our adolescent rheumatology coordinator on UCLH.rheumatology@nhs.net UCLH.adolescentrheumatologyteam@nhs.net who will forward your message to the clinical team. Someone will get back to you, usually within two working days.

Please email our adolescent rheumatology coordinator on UCLH.rheumatology@nhs.net  or UCLH.adolescentrheumatologyteam@nhs.net who will pass your message onto the clinical nurse specialist or the rheumatology doctors. It is important to discuss vaccinations with a member of our team as some vaccinations cannot be given to patients receiving certain medications.

If you do not live locally to University College Hospital and share care with a local rheumatology service or paediatric service you should make contact with them in the first instance. You may need to seek advice from a travel clinic depending on where you are travelling to. We always advise you to have adequate travel insurance. We can also provide a letter so that you can carry your medications in your hand luggage. Please contact the email address above if you require this.

We advise all our patients that are on immunosuppressant medication to have the flu vaccine injection annually. We do not recommend receiving the live attenuated nasal flu vaccine. We recommend patients on immunosuppressant medication also have the pneumococcal vaccine every five years.

We advise all our patients that are on immunosuppressant medication to have the vaccine. Currently, patients on immunosuppressant medication are eligible for three primary doses of the vaccine and two booster doses. Each dose should be at least 12 weeks apart. Certain patients are also eligible for anti-viral treatment if they test positive for COVID-19. Please contact NHS 111 if you think you may be eligible. This guidance may be changed at short notice so you can also email UCLH.rheumatology@nhs.net or UCLH.adolescentrheumatologyteam@nhs.net for advice. We aim to respond within two working days.

Please email UCLH.rheumatology@nhs.net or UCLH.adolescentrheumatologyteam@nhs.net for advice. It is important to discuss vaccinations with a member of our team as some vaccinations cannot be given to patients receiving certain medications. If you do not live locally to University College Hospital and share care with a local rheumatology service or paediatric service you should make contact with them in the first instance. Live vaccines such as MMR, BCG and Yellow Fever vaccines should not be given to patients on immunosuppressant medications. Alternative vaccines may be available. You can discuss this with your GP.

Please email our adolescent rheumatology coordinator on UCLH.rheumatology@nhs.net or UCLH.adolescentrheumatologyteam@nhs.net for advice. If you do not live locally to University College Hospital and share care with a local rheumatology service or paediatric service you should make contact with them in the first instance. We usually advise that medications such as methotrexate, MMF, azathioprine, etanercept, adalimumab, tocilizumab and abatacept are missed if you are receiving antibiotics for an infection or have a fever due to infection. If you are due to come to the hospital for your infusion, then you should delay this until you have finished the course of antibiotics. Medications such as prednisolone and anakinra should not be stopped. It is always important to check this with your local team or with us at UCLH so please get in contact via the email addresses above.