Why is this important?
Reducing disease activity. Improving quality of life. Avoiding hospitalisation and surgery. These are the treatment goals for managing IBD. But the clinical features, symptoms and impact of Crohn’s and Colitis are highly variable and complex – which can make it challenging to achieve these aims.
At the same time, we’ve seen a recent rise in new management strategies relating to all aspects of clinical care. These incorporate an increasingly complex range of medical therapy options, the growth of minimally invasive surgical techniques, and greater emphasis on getting patients involved in decision making and measuring treatment and management outcomes.
These changes are presenting new opportunities. In particular, the growth of the multidisciplinary team within IBD care delivery means that all team members can help deliver these new models of care by becoming more actively involved in patient pathways and service development.
That sounds good in theory – but national audits have shown variable standards of experience and expertise. It’s essential to address this if we want to achieve consistent, comparable and personalised care for patients.
One solution here is to enable greater opportunities for shared education and upskilling and to ensure that development plans are in place and well-supported and resourced for all members of the IBD team.