First ‘smell clinic’ in the region will be set up in county hospital

GLOUCESTERSHIRE NHS Foundation Trust is to establish the first ‘smell clinic’ in the South West at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, to help people with the sensory disorder.

Even before the Covid pandemic, roughly one in 20 people suffered from some form of olfactory, or smell, disorder.

While the new Smell Disorders and Allergy Clinic at the hospital is not specifically for people who lost their sense of smell due to a coronavirus infection, the NHS cites loss of smell as one of the major indicators of long Covid, symptoms that persist long after infection affecting around one million Britons.

The service, which launches this month, is already said to be seeing “lots of demand”.

The new clinic will be run in partnership with a national charity dedicated to smell and taste disorders, Fifth Sense, which will help patients at the clinic access information and signpost them to other services. Gloucestershire NHS Trust believes the partnership will help the clinic contribute to cutting-edge research in the field.

This new service for the people of Gloucestershire and the wider region was in part put together by Okechukwu Okonkwo, ear nose and throat consultant at Gloucestershire Royal.

He said: “We are delighted to be able to offer this service to the people of Gloucestershire.

“There are lots of different causes of smell impairment and by having this new clinic and working with Fifth Sense we hope to improve the lives of people with this condition.

“We are already seeing lots of demand and have started to accept referrals through GPS.”

For those suffering from sensory issues, there will be an information session held by the new clinic and by Fifth Sense at Cheltenham Hospital on November 12, at the Sandford Education Centre.

Local health experts will be present to listen to the experiences of those impacted by smell and taste disorders to see how they can be better helped in the future.

Duncan Boak, chief executive and founder of Fifth Sense, said: “There has been a real need for a specialist smell clinic in this part of England, so I’m delighted that Mr Okonkwo and his team have established this important new service.

“I am really looking forward to working together with them and the wider Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to deliver support, education and research that makes a difference to people with smell and taste disorders.”

To attend the information session about the clinic, email the charity at info@fifthsense.org.uk.

Referrals to the Smell Disorder and Allergy Clinic can be done through your GP.