HSJ special report on Crohn's & Colitis UK

There is no money in the NHS – we all know that, and all know it’s about how do we get more for the same, or in some cases more for less. Service redesign is critical to that, and where we’re seeing real successes IBD specialist nurses have sat at the heart of that.

There are just so many benefits on so many levels to having good specialist IBD nurse provision. If you look at the power of a nurse in supporting patients, saving money, avoiding admittance to a hospital, avoiding inappropriate outpatient appointments, avoiding A&E, there is a very, very powerful case to be made for the difference they can make.

Where nurses are running effective advice lines, patients with complex Crohn’s or complex ulcerative colitis – or a flare of a straightforward condition – don’t pitch up at A&E.

They call the nurse and the nurse manages them appropriately. Sometimes that’s without the patient even needing to attend the hospital, or by the nurse putting them into the right acute management pathway so avoiding A&E. That’s a massive cost saving and something that everyone wants. Nobody wants general A&E doctors having to deal with the complexities of IBD management.