Since the campaign launch, IBD Nurses have increased by over a third (32%) across the UK.
Plus, in our nurse survey, almost one in three IBD Nurses (27%) said that our campaign had been influential in securing new nursing posts in their hospitals - something we should all be proud of.
But we also know that hospitals across the UK are 270 IBD Nurses short, so there is still a long way to go to ensure everyone living with Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis has access to an IBD Nurse.
As well as providing clinical care for people living with Crohn’s or Colitis, an IBD Nurse Specialist is a mentor, emotional supporter and an advocate for better care and an end to stigma. Without them, people with the conditions are missing out on this important care.
We also asked IBD Nurses about what they do day-to-day in their role, and we found that nurses are working at an advanced level, often running clinics by themselves, prescribing medication, and ordering investigations.
But only 14% of IBD Nurses are educated to MSc level, which is the level of education recommended for advanced practice.
That’s why we’ve launched our Nurse Specialist programme to annually fund ten nurses to complete MScs in advanced nursing practice, and ten MSc qualified nurse specialists to complete Royal College of Nursing Advanced Practice Credentialing.
These Crohn’s & Colitis UK Nurse Specialists will be in posts up and down the country, building a community of nurses representing the charity and flying the flag for better care for people with Crohn’s and Colitis.