The British Thyroid Foundation (BTF) is a UK-based, patient-led, registered charity dedicated to supporting people with

thyroid The thyroid, or thyroid gland, is an endocrine gland in vertebrates. In humans, it is a butterfly-shaped gland located in the neck below the Adam's apple. It consists of two connected lobes. The lower two thirds of the lobes are connected by ...

disorders and helping their families and people around them to understand the condition.

Function

The British Thyroid Foundation is a patient support organisation. The aims of the BTF are to help improve understanding of thyroid disease; represent the patient perspective to medical professionals; offer a peer support network and fund research into thyroid function and thyroid disease to improve patient outcomes. The BTF is recognised by the British Thyroid Association, the British Association of Endocrine and Thyroid Surgeons, the British Society for Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes, and the Society for Endocrinology as a helpful resource. It is also listed as a carer centre and service by

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

(NHS) England.

History

The British Thyroid Foundation was founded in 1991 by Janis Hickey MBE after she was diagnosed with

Graves A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as grave ...

and

thyroid eye disease Graves' ophthalmopathy, also known as thyroid eye disease (TED), is an autoimmune inflammatory disorder of the orbit and periorbital tissues, characterized by upper eyelid retraction, lid lag, swelling, redness (erythema), conjunctivitis, and bul ...

. With the encouragement of Sir Richard Bayliss KCVO, who was involved with the British Thyroid Association, the BTF was set up as a registered charity based in

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and civil parish in the North Yorkshire District, district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist de ...

, North Yorkshire, UK. Past and present patrons include,

Clare Balding Clare Victoria Balding (born 29 January 1971) is an English broadcast journalist and author. She currently presents programmes for BBC Sport and Channel 4, and previously for BT Sport. She also formerly presented ''Good Morning Sunday'' on BBC ...

Jenny Pitman Jennifer Susan Pitman OBE (''née'' Harvey, born 11 June 1946 "Jenny Pitman, The Autobiography") is a British former racehorse trainer and author. She became the first woman to train a Grand National winner when Corbiere won the race in 1983, ...

and

Gay Search Mary Gay Laryea (' Search; born 1 May 1945) is an English television presenter and journalist. She worked on the BBC television series ''Gardeners' World'' with Geoff Hamilton, and on the series ''Front Gardens''. Early life Mary Gay Search was ...

Activities

The British Thyroid Foundation provides a support network to thyroid patients through its local support groups, volunteer telephone contacts and closed Facebook groups, run by people with thyroid disease. The BTF offers a medical query answering service. BTF News is the regular member newsletter featuring articles about thyroid research and treatment, patient stories and local group activities.

Campaigns

The Cancer Project of the BTF has a goal to provide information, support and help to thyroid cancer patients and to help improve treatment and care in collaboration with medical professionals and other cancer groups. The Children's Project aims to help parents and carers find information and support about their children's condition, the BTF produces resources and holds regular information events for families. The Thyroid in Pregnancy program aims to educate patients, medical professionals and the general public with current research-based information about thyroid disease in pregnancy. In 2018 the ‘BTF Thyroid disorders and pregnancy' information prescription tools were adopted by

EMIS Health EMIS Health, formerly known as Egton Medical Information Systems, supplies electronic patient record systems and software used in primary care, acute care and community pharmacy in the United Kingdom. The company is based in Leeds. It claims t ...

. Originally developed by Anh Tran, the tools aim to help patients and clinicians better understand the importance of managing thyroid function during conception and pregnancy.

Notes

External links

British Thyroid Foundation
{{Authority control Thyroid disease Organizations established in 1991 Organisations based in Harrogate Health charities in the United Kingdom 1991 establishments in the United Kingdom