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LBA2 Intestinal failure service provision – a national survey

flgastro · 2026-06-29 · canonical JSON source

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A multidisciplinary team (MDT) approach is a key factor associated with improved survival, higher parenteral nutrition (PN) weaning rates, and reduced complications in intestinal failure (IF). However, team organization varies widely among centres worldwide 1 and no studies have explored the impact of MDT structure/team composition and staff/patient ratios on patient outcomes.The survey aimed to examine team structures across UK centres as an initial step toward developing a benchmark for the IF services.Survey collecting UK data between September-October 2025, initially trough the National Paediatric PN Nurses and National Paediatric PN Dieticians channels; IF consultants were contacted at centres that did not respond or where discrepancies in responses were identified. The survey included number of home PN (HPN) patients/centre and team composition – number of consultants and whole time equivalent (WTE) for nurses, dieticians, pharmacists, psychologists and social workers.Answers from 22/22 (100%) UK centres were collated. Another centre was excluded as recently closed the IF service due to lack of PN pharmacy support.13 answers were received from the PN nurses’ group and 10 from the dieticians (6 repeated) - 17/22 answers from allied health professionals and 5/22 from consultants.459 patients were identified, median/centre 18 [IQR 12-26.5].Consultant cover: one centre had allocated Programmed activities (PA’s)/week for IF (8 hours/week for 15 HPN patients and inpatient work). Most centres had one to two consultants overseeing the IF service, without dedicated time allocated. 3 centres had the HPN patients divided between all consultants in the department (5-6), although one noted an intention to limit the number of consultants involved in HPN care. The number of consultants/patients ranged between 0.04 and 0.5.Nurse provision: 100% services had allocated nurses for the IF service with substantial variability between centres, nurse WTE/10 patients ranging between 0.07 and 2; median 0.6 [IQR 0.4 – 1].Dietician support: 21/22 centres (95.5%) had dietician support with wide variation - WTE dietician/10 patients ranging between 0.07 and 1.7; median 0.4 [IQR 0.3 – 0.6].Pharmacy support: 21/22 centres (95.5%) had pharmacy support; WTE pharmacist/10 patients ranging between 0.1 to 1.7; median 0.4 [IQR 0.2 – 0.7].Fifteen/22 (68%) centres had psychology support but not specific for IF. Four/22 (18%) had access to a gastroenterology social worker.Two teams had an IF coordinator and one has access to a data manager.Nutrition support team provision varies widely across UK centres. Only 27% (6/22) centres meet the recommended nurse staffing levels2 and recommendations for other professional roles are lacking. One possible explanation is the lack of proportional growth in the workforce relative to patient numbers (18% increment since 2019).3 Future development should focus on collaboration with professional societies and commissioners to equalise resources across the country and promote equitable care.References Neelis E, de Koning B, van Winckel M, Tabbers M, Hill S, Hulst J. Wide variation in organisation and clinical practice of paediatric intestinal failure teams: an international survey. Clin Nutr. 2018 Dec;37(6 Pt A):2271–2279. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2017.11.008. Epub 2017 Nov 22. PMID: 29203343.The paediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition UK national census 2021. PGHAN national quality standards audit. Published December 2021.Wiskin AE, Russell R, Barclay AR, Thomas J, Batra A; BANS committee of BAPEN. Prevalence of home parenteral nutrition in children. Clin Nutr ESPEN. 2021 Apr;42:138–141. doi: 10.1016/j.clnesp.2020.12.029. Epub 2021 Feb 11. PMID: 33745567.