Tackling variation in IBD care

The need to improve care for patients with inflammatory bowel disease was recently highlighted at the British Society of Gastroenterology’s annual congress. As the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) prepares to publish a quality standard for IBD care, healthcare providers will need to tackle the key issues raised by the latest IBD audit. LOUISE FRAMPTON reports. 

The two most common types of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. At least 261,0001 people are affected by ulcerative colitis (146,0001) and Crohn's disease (115,0001) in the UK – although recently published data suggest that this could be as many as 620,000.2 Effective multidisciplinary care can help prolong remission and improve the quality of life for people living with bowel disease. However, despite improvements in many aspects of care for patients with IBD, a national audit shows that patients continue to experience wide variation in care quality.

The findings of the 4th round of the UK IBD audit were recently presented to an audience of gastroenterologists at the annual BSG congress, held in Manchester. Commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) and carried out by the Royal College of Physicians, around 190 hospitals participated in the audit – providing data on the care of 4,359 patients with ulcerative colitis.