Gastroenterology

We care for a wide variety of gastrointestinal conditions both as outpatients and inpatients, including:

• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Diseases of the liver/pancreas
• Cancer of the oesophagus, stomach, pancreas, gallbladder and liver 
• Nutrition and feeding issues, including artificial feeding
• Endoscopy services

The Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Service

We provide outpatient clinics led by consultants, registrars and specialist IBD nurses and IBD pharmacists, and inpatient services for sick IBD patients. We have an exclusive weekly biologic infusion/injection clinic by specialist nurses every Thursday. We also provide a telephone IBD helpline.

The IBD helpline number to call is 01279 278223. This service is available for advice on IBD treatment or related issues between your normal clinic appointments. The IBD helpline is a voicemail service, so it is important that you leave a message clearly stating: 

• Your full name
• Date of birth
• Hospital number 
• A contact number
• A short message about why you are calling

One of the nurses will call you back with advice, usually within 72 hours, but please be aware at busy times it may take longer to return your call. This service is open from Monday to Friday only, between 8am and 5.30pm. 

If your call is more urgent and you are experiencing the symptoms below, or if the IBD nurses are not available, please contact your GP, 111 or visit A&E.

• Severe abdominal pain 
• Persistent vomiting 
• Persistent bloody diarrhoea more than six times a day 
• Fever (greater than 38°C)
• Side effects or any unusual reactions from your medications

Information resources 

• Crohn’s and Colitis UK
• Treatments

The Liver Service

We are committed to providing high-quality, patient-centred liver care for people with a wide range of liver-related conditions. Our liver services are designed to meet the needs of patients from early diagnosis to long-term management. 

• We provide liver disease assessment and diagnosis (comprehensive liver blood test, imaging scans, liver biopsy)
• Outpatient liver clinics (fatty liver, hepatitis B and C, alcohol related liver disease, cirrhosis, acute and chronic liver diseases, autoimmune liver diseases, managing liver related complications such as ascites or encephalopathy, outpatient ascites drain service)
• Liver nurse specialist support for ongoing monitoring and follow-ups
• Multidisciplinary team care with access to advanced therapies or referral for a liver transplant where appropriate
• Alcohol support services in collaboration with an addiction specialist and primary care

Who can access our services?

Our liver services are available to patients referred by their GP and interdepartmental referral from an incidental finding of liver related issues. If you are concerned about your liver health, please speak with your GP about a referral.

Contact us

To learn more about our liver services or to get in touch, please call the gastro secretary on 01279 827821 or 01279 827424. 

Nutrition Services

We are a multidisciplinary team that consists of gastroenterologists, dietitians, speech and language therapists and specialist nurses. We support the nutritional wellbeing of our patients through expert, tailored and evidence-based nutritional care. 

We provide services for both inpatients and outpatients at the hospital.

Inpatients

Inpatients are reviewed and advised on wards after an assessment of hydration and nutrition needs. We make recommendations, many times after discussion in the nutrition team meetings, that are documented and communicated to the treating team. 

We provide a comprehensive, holistic approach to the delivery of enteral (through tubes into the stomach or intestine) and parenteral (feed into the veins) nutrition for patients with complex nutrition and hydration needs. This includes patients who are unable to swallow, those with bowel disease, or patients with other complex medical disorders affecting their ability to maintain their nutrition and hydration needs. 

Patients with swallowing difficulties are assessed both clinically at the bedside and with video fluoroscopy (X-rays) and endoscopy when needed. If artificial nutritional support is required, we assess, obtain consent from the patient and insert the relevant feeding device via the nose or directly into the stomach/bowel. This includes nasogastric tubes, naso-jejunostomy tubes, gastrostomy tubes and jejunostomy tubes for the safe delivery of the planned nutritional support. 

Outpatients

The specialist dietitian team have outpatient clinics weekly for digestive disease related conditions. Endoscopic feeding devices are inserted on a dedicated nutrition slot. However, if the feeding tube becomes displaced, blocked, damaged, or unusable, we organise an endoscopy slot for tube replacement as soon as possible.

For further information or referrals, please contact the Gastroenterology Nutrition Service on 01279 827443.