Ulcerative Colitis

"We are now living in such a hygienic world with disinfectant sprays and antibiotics that our guts have become sanitised and over-react," he explained.

"But despite the high impact of these conditions they are very low priority.

Cancer is the focus of targets and chronic disease management gets left by the wayside.

"Yet it is vital that for a shift towards greater self-management by patients, which is what they want, to be successful they need more support and rapid access to specialist services when needed.

We need a multidisciplinary approach, increased use of specialist nurses, and access to dietetic services for all patients." The ten-year strategy plan calls for more GI consultants to meet the growing workload and to enable 24-hour a day consultant cover in future.

It also demands an increase in endoscopy-trained specialist nurses who are qualified to carry out the initial internal examinations.

It recommends integrated multidisplinary teams, which include the gastroenterologist, surgeon, nurse specialist, endoscopier, and radiologist to discuss a treatment plan for every patient and hold regular meetings throughout their care.

But although it agrees that every patient receives the best care from a specialist, it insists that it is crucial for services to be maintained at a loc...

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