Metabolics

Our Metabolics team cares for the whole spectrum of Inherited Metabolic Disorders (IMD). We are a multidisciplinary team formed of consultants with the support of clinical nurse specialists, specialist dietitians, specialised metabolic laboratory scientists, a physiotherapist, a clinical psychologist and a speech and language therapist. We also have input from several paediatric sub-specialities. Long-term care is provided in conjunction with community-based teams and in close liaison with family support organisations.

We oversee the diagnosis and treatment of more than 1,200 patients across the West Midlands and surrounding counties, with a variety of IMDs from ages 0-16. We also provide a national and international service for the management of some rare and complex paediatric metabolic conditions. We are one of three nationally-commissioned NHS Specialised Services for the treatment of paediatric lysosomal storage disorders (LSDs). We offer comprehensive, national diagnosis and treatment for children with LSDs in addition to the service already provided for other rare disorders.

Clinics and services

We run joint clinics with a number of sub-specialities including neurometabolic and mitochondrial clinics, and liver-metabolic clinics. We are predominantly an outpatient-based speciality, where we run several multidisciplinary team clinics per week which will feature prominently in our new rare diseases centre in Waterfall House. We also provide inpatient care for acutely unwell children from south Birmingham with IMDs and support district general hospitals across the region to manage acutely unwell children closer to home where possible, transferring to our Children's Hospital where necessary. There is someone available 24 hours a day for clinical advice about metabolic patients, contactable via the main switchboard. Our aim is to provide efficient, high-quality, multidisciplinary care to children and young people with metabolic disorders.

Referrals

Referrals should be made by your paediatric consultant or GP looking after your child. If you would like to discuss a referral, please call the metabolic registrar via switchboard on 0121 333 9999.