Andrew is supporting the campaign for more specialist IBD nurses after a recent survey conducted by patient charity, Crohn’s and Colitis UK, found that at least 100,000 patients in the UK with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) don’t have access to adequate care.
IBD Nurses are instrumental in improving the quality of life for patients with IBD as well as helping to cut significant costs to the NHS, yet many health services are not offering the recommended nursing level.
The specialist nurse role provides expert advanced nursing care, being the first point of contact and caring, often during distressing times - coordinating often high cost therapies in a cost effective way - as well as reducing A&E visits, with studies showing that IBD nurses help with a 38% reduction in hospital visits and a 19% reduction in in-patient length of stay.
IBD costs the NHS an estimated £900 million per year, with the average cost per patient being £3,000 per year. These costs are comparable to diabetes or cancer as treatment options can include effective, high cost biological drugs and surgery.
Recent researchalso revealed that six out of 10 IBD services in hospitals do not currently meet the recommended standard for the number of IBD nurses necessary to deliver the right level of service and support.
80% of survey respondents without access to a specialist nurse did not know they should have access to one – highlighting the information gap that patients need to understand and manage their condition effectively.
Andrew, who has worked closely with Crohn’s & Colitis UK in championing supporting for those living with IBD comments; “Those living with IBD deserve access to the indispensable services and support provided by specialist IBD nurses, particularly as they are proven to improve quality of life.
“I want to see more specialist IBD nurses locally to ensure that my constituents have access to the crucial care they both need and deserve. Many patients who do have access to a specialist nurse often describe this additional care as a ‘lifeline’, as the nurses not only provide care but advice and wider support.
“I have written to the Secretary of State for Health and to the local hospital trust to ask what is being done to support those with IBD and to provide the specialist care that these nurses can bring.”
For more information on the campaign, as well as support and help available, you can visit: https://www.crohnsandcolitis.org.uk/
Photo – Andrew with representatives of Crohn’s & Colitis UK meeting with the Minister for Disabled People, Justin Tomlinson MP, to discuss support for those living with IBD
