Update on the Inflammatory Bowel Disease - February 2025
Update provided by Cristina Garcia Suiero, Specialist Nurse.
The new ward for inflammatory bowel disease patients, U2, is open.
It provides more space and a more generous ratio of bathrooms to patients than the previous ward did.
Please email IBD Patient Panel with your feedback and experience on ward U2, or come to a panel meeting to share your experience with other IBD patients and staff.
The IBD patient panel is run by staff volunteers and IBD patients, so it may take a while for us to be able to get back to you.
In the event that you find that you or an inflammatory bowel disease patient that you care for has got to visit the accident and emergency department due to a crisis in their disease, the “IBD ED avoidance pathway” has been available since the end of December 2024.
This means that patients with known inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) who contact the IBD specialist nurses advice line on: 01223 257 212 after they are assessed and, their case is discussed with the medical team, may be recommended to go to a different area than the Emergency Department (also known by some people as “Casualty”).
Information will be given about where the patient should go to and at what time that they would be expected there.
Patients may need to wait still to be assessed.
About us
The inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patient panel is comprised of IBD staff, patients and carers at the hospital. The panel meets via the internet four times a year to share views and news about the hospital and so that patients and carers can provide feedback to the staff that care for them about how the IBD service is running. Staff share news about changes and events which would be of interest to IBD patients and their carers.
The Panel was set up in 2019 by staff that treat and support IBD patients at the hospital.
It is not intended to be a psychological mutual support group although it has a reciprocally caring, supportive and empathetic ethos. The IBD patient panel is keen to ensure that as diverse a range of patients can have a voice in the running of the IBD service as possible, even if you are unable to make an ongoing commitment to the group.
Join the panel
The IBD panel would like to welcome all adult patients at Addenbrooke’s and their carers to think about joining the IBD patient panel for the next meeting. Younger people, those of us with neurodiverse, mental health and / or with physical disabilities and people from households which live on very low incomes are currently under represented and would be very welcome.
If you think you or your loved-one might like to try and see if you would enjoy joining a meeting to see what it is like, please email the IBD patient panel and the volunteer secretary (who is also an IBD patient) will send you information about it.
MyChart patient portal
Access your all of your hospital health information via MyChart
MyChart is the electronic patient portal at Addenbrooke’s and The Rosie Hospitals, which allows you to securely access parts of your health record held within the hospitals’ Epic electronic patient record system.
MyChart is designed to improve communication between you and your clinical teams and enable you to be more involved and informed about your care and treatment by having access to your information.
You can send a message to the IBD Outpatient Nurse Specialists via MyChart if you have a MyChart account (although it can sometimes take a week or so before they can respond).
You can access your blood tests and other test results if you sign up for MyChart and receive appointment notifications too. You can also request your hospital records to be sent to you in PDF format and if you are away from home you can share your hospital records with a doctor anywhere in the world.
It is worth noting that a MyChart account is password protected. If you do sign up for MyChart you will automatically be opted-out of receiving routine letters by post and you will need a password to log in and read your letters. If you have memory problems or have had persistent difficulties dealing with, handling and remembering passwords, it may be better for you not to sign up for MyChart.
To find out more and to sign up for MyChart access, please visit this page MyChart | CUH (opens in a new tab).
Useful resources for IBD patients
- CUH patient and public involvement panel - For other ways patients can become engaged with the hospital
- Joining the IBD registry (opens in a new tab)
- Crohn’s and Colitis UK (CCUK) guide on treatments for IBD (opens in a new tab)
National IBD patient support charities
Watch: Having a gastroscopy in hospital - Bucks NHS Trust (opens in a new tab)
Feedback and complaints
If you wish to share your feedback with us, please let us know your views here.
If you wish to make a complaint, please visit our 'make a complaint' webpage or the patients association website. (opens in a new tab)