PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Nicholas A Kennedy
AU  - Richard Hansen
AU  - Lisa Younge
AU  - Joel Mawdsley
AU  - R Mark Beattie
AU  - Shahida Din
AU  - Christopher A Lamb
AU  - Philip J Smith
AU  - Christian Selinger
AU  - Jimmy Limdi
AU  - Tariq H Iqbal
AU  - Alan Lobo
AU  - Rachel Cooney
AU  - Oliver Brain
AU  - Daniel R Gaya
AU  - Charles Murray
AU  - Richard Pollok
AU  - Alexandra Kent
AU  - Tim Raine
AU  - Neeraj Bhala
AU  - James O Lindsay
AU  - Peter M Irving
AU  - Charlie W Lees
AU  - Shaji Sebastian
TI  - Organisational changes and challenges for inflammatory bowel disease services in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic
AID  - 10.1136/flgastro-2020-101520
DP  - 2020 Sep 01
TA  - Frontline Gastroenterology
PG  - 343--350
VI  - 11
IP  - 5
4099  - http://fg.bmj.com/content/11/5/343.short
4100  - http://fg.bmj.com/content/11/5/343.full
SO  - Frontline Gastroenterol2020 Sep 01; 11
AB  - Objective To determine the challenges in diagnosis, monitoring, support provision in the management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients and explore the adaptations of IBD services.Methods Internet-based survey by invitation of IBD services across the UK from 8 to 14 April 2020.Results Respondents from 125 IBD services completed the survey. The number of whole-time equivalent gastroenterologists and IBD nurses providing elective outpatient care decreased significantly between baseline (median 4, IQR 4–7.5 and median 3, IQR 2–4) to the point of survey (median 2, IQR 1–4.8 and median 2, IQR 1–3) in the 6-week period following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (p<0.001 for both comparisons). Almost all (94%; 112/119) services reported an increase in IBD helpline activity. Face-to-face clinics were substituted for telephone consultation by 86% and video consultation by 11% of services. A variation in the provision of laboratory faecal calprotectin testing was noted with 27% of services reporting no access to faecal calprotectin, and a further 32% reduced access. There was also significant curtailment of IBD-specific endoscopy and elective surgery.Conclusions IBD services in the UK have implemented several adaptive strategies in order to continue to provide safe and high-quality care for patients. National Health Service organisations will need to consider the impact of these changes in current service delivery models and staffing levels when planning exit strategies for post-pandemic IBD care. Careful planning to manage the increased workload and to maintain IBD services is essential to ensure patient safety.