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Fifth Sense

Partnering with Fifth Sense to improve care for people living with taste and smell disorders

ENT UK has formed a strategic partnership with Fifth Sense, the charity for people affected by smell and taste disorders. The partnership aims to improve care for people affected by smell and taste disorders.

The Covid-19 pandemic generated significant awareness of these under-recognised sensory impairments. It left large numbers of people with ongoing smell and taste dysfunction as a symptom of Long Covid. It also highlighted the many challenges faced by all those living with impaired smell and taste. These include lack of routine testing and effective treatments, a need for better education for healthcare professionals and a significant increase in research to accelerate the steps to new treatments. 

Fifth Sense and ENT UK will work together to help address these issues, ensuring that ENT professionals give patients and their families the support they need, including signposting them to Fifth Sense’s Support and Information Service. The two organisations will also work to improve education on smell and taste disorders for ENT professionals and trainees, and encourage ENT UK members to initiate new research projects that respond to the priorities established through the Fifth Sense Smell and Taste Disorders Priority Setting Partnership.  Another important goal will be to encourage more ENT clinics in the UK to offer routine smell testing as part of consultations. 

Fifth Sense is also making a commitment to supporting the start-up of new ENT-led specialist smell and taste services, as the charity did with the Smell Disorders and Allergies Clinic at Royal Gloucestershire Hospital in 2022.