NHS England published NICE guidance for the use of Eculizumab for treating in aHUS in January 2015. After a competitive tendering process, the NRCTC encompassing the National aHUS service based at Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was commissioned for the expert diagnosis and treatment of aHUS with Eculizumab in May 2016. The service offers comprehensive diagnostic clinical and pathological investigations and expert opinion, facilitating optimal patient management on a shared-care basis with referring clinicians and other specialist services.
As part of the assessment of each potential new diagnosis of aHUS, we will require completion of a diagnostic checklist and a signed shared care protocol following discussion with the on-call consultant nephrologist for aHUS, contactable through the switchboard at the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. A decision as to whether NHS England will fund Eculizumab / Ravulizumab is usually available within 24 hours. As of October 2017, to keep a complete audit trail of the process and efficiency, approval for funding of Eculizumab / Ravulizumab will only be possible via Blueteq as mandated by NHS England.