"Heartfelt thanks to IBD team"

I would like to record my sincere appreciation for the superb work that the IBD team do in the Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley, including the first-rate Nurse-led IBD service.

I have suffered from IBD for over 15 years and until last year, my ongoing care was at another hospital. My experience after transferring my care to RAH has been astoundingly good and has made me realise, in particular, the benefit of direct access to specialist Nurses.

In the past few months, I have required changes in medication/doses and during this process, there have been numerous occasions when I needed prompt advice. I have been able to contact the Nurse-led service directly, without the necessity of having to go through my GP (and the resulting inevitable delays) and have rapidly received either a phone call or an email and had all my queries sorted and explained fully. This type of service is particularly valuable for IBD sufferers, who can experience a sudden deterioration in their symptoms and need timely advice.

This is in sharp contrast to my previous hospital experience of delayed or no communication, disjointed care and generally feeling unsupported. Obviously, there was no such direct access Nurse-led IBD service in the previous hospital. I feel that it would be of enormous benefit to patients if this type of service is able to be set up in other hospitals as well.

Please pass on my heartfelt thanks to Dr Naismith, and Mr Squires and Mr Boal, who, in addition to being very competent in their field, have a great manner with patients like myself, who might not have a medical background and sometimes need a bit of reassurance and support.