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Intestinal failure patients to get faster treatment

Chloe Hughes
BBC News, West Midlands
University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire Sylvia Wyer is wearing a white blouse and beige trousers, and she has short white hair. She is holding a pair of scissors and is about to cut a large red ribbon stretched across a doorway, with a white and red striped bow. Next to her is a man in a striped suit jacket. There is another man next to him in a grey suitUniversity Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire
Patient Sylvia Wyer opened the new unit at University Hospital, Coventry

Patients with severe intestinal failure will receive quicker treatment, following the opening of a new specialist unit at a hospital.

The unit, at University Hospital, Coventry, is staffed by specialists who will assess and treat patients with help from the wider nutrition team. It is the first of its kind at the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust.

It is hoped the unit would prevent patients with intestinal failure and complex gastrointestinal illness going to A&E, and avoid unnecessary admission to hospital.

The unit was opened by 75 year-old patient Sylvia Wyer, who described it as a "brilliant advancement".

Mrs Wyer has been receiving treatment from the nutrition team at the hospital for about 20 years, after she suffered intestinal failure.

She has treatment via a catheter to maintain her nutrition and hydration, and prevent malnutrition.

Patients receiving this treatment can often become very ill and, previously, if they had a problem would have had to attend A&E and be admitted to a ward.

University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire A group of men and women standing in front of a unit and a wooden door. A blue sign on the door reads "SIF AAU". There is a patient, who is wearing a white blouse and beige trousers, and she has short white hair. The woman next to her is in dark blue nurse uniform. On the right are three men wearing suits.University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire
Mrs Wyer has been receiving treatment with the hospital's nutrition team for about 20 years

"If I have an issue, I can ring the team and they can bring me to the unit, so it's a better service for people with parenteral nutrition," Mrs Wyer said.

"It's a great advancement for the patients and they will benefit from it – it's brilliant."

Dr Dana Ismail, lead for clinical nutrition and intestinal failure, said the unit's opening concluded years of work to continuously develop and improve the service.

"This unit will deliver excellent service for patients with swift assessment and management by expert staff, to bypass the front door and avoid unnecessary admissions," he said.

"It's about treating the right patient in the right place at the right time."

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