The Bone Clinic at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board has been named Wales’ only Paget’s Association Centre of Excellence.
The Paget’s Disease treatment centre, which is based at University Hospital Llandough (UHL) and Cardiff Royal Infirmary (CRI), is one of only 10 centres across the UK to receive the Centre of Excellence accolade.
The Bone Clinic started at UHL in 1992 and quickly became a Paget’s Disease Treatment Centre. The centre holds four bone clinics each week and encourages referrals of Paget’s Disease from GPs with the assistance of the Radiology and Biochemistry departments.
Intravenous treatments are given to patients at the CRI Infusion Clinic which is nurse led, with two specialist nurses providing counselling prior to infusion and support after treatment.
Paget’s Disease is a metabolic bone disorder in which the normal repair and renewal process within bone is disrupted. Symptoms include pain, deformity and fracture and it can be diagnosed by x-rays or a simple blood test which measures the alkaline phosphatase level. An isotope bone scan indicates the extent and severity of the disease.
Most patients are treated with a single infusion of intravenous Zoledronic acid which can help regulate bone growth and reduce pain for several years at a time. Treatment can be repeated when the effect starts to wear off.
Dr Mike Stone, Consultant Physician and Director of Bone Research at the Bone Research Unit said “We have a fabulous team of nurses and doctors, with excellent support from other departments, which enables us to provide high quality specialist care for our patients.
“We are the only centre in Wales to be recognised as a Paget’s Association Centre of Excellence, and this award is a huge honour and reflects the dedication and hard work of all involved. We are proud and delighted to receive this award which reinforces our desire to provide the best possible care for our patients and to develop further research ideas in the treatment of Paget’s Disease.”
More information on Paget’s Disease and the Centre of Excellence can be found at www.paget.org.uk
