The aim of the article is to convince hospital chief executives and officials to invest in greater efficiencies and excellent patient care as well as offering help with local service development and business planning.
The supplement has three main themes:
- Value for money, and cost savings
- Lead service redesign, which bolsters quality
- Offers excellence in patient care and experience
David Barker, Crohn’s & Colitis UK chief executive comments in the article that he admits it’s obvious for a patient organisation to support a staff group so often associated with excellent care. But he wants holders of purse strings to understand the benefits of investing in specialist nursing go beyond high-quality care.
The problem is that a third of patients report no access to an expert IBD nurse, and 63 per cent of services do not have enough nurses to meet national standards. That means A&E or the GP becomes the point of call.
At Crohn’s & Colitis UK, the belief in the value of these nurses is such that campaigning for more is at the heart of the charity’s strategy. The 'More IBD Nurses – Better Care' campaign aims to get to a point where 95 percent of the organisation’s supporters have access to a named and appropriately trained IBD Nurse.