Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Health Services

The Department recognises the importance of consistent, high-quality care for people living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). While the National Health Service in England operates within a locally commissioned system, the Government expects integrated care boards (ICBs) to take account of existing national guidance when planning and delivering services.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence provides evidence-based guidance on the diagnosis and management of IBD, which provides a framework for high-quality care across the NHS and supports timely access to appropriate treatment and ongoing monitoring. Additionally, the IBD Standards, developed by IBD UK, are used across the NHS to guide service design, identify gaps, and drive improvement.

NHS England is also working to reduce unwarranted variation and improve outcomes through programmes such as Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) and NHS RightCare. These initiatives support local systems to identify best practice, address unwarranted variation in pathways and outcomes, and strengthen access to specialist services where needed.

Alongside this, wider work across the NHS to improve earlier diagnosis, expand capacity, and deliver more joined-up care, as set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, will help ensure that people with IBD receive more timely, effective, and coordinated care.

NHS England and its partners use a range of data sources, including clinical audit data and programme work such as GIRFT to identify unwarranted variation in services and outcomes. These insights help ICBs to understand and address local disparities in care.

For people with IBD, virtual hospital models can improve services by enabling more timely monitoring and specialist input, reducing the need for hospital visits, and supporting proactive management of flares, which can help improve patient outcomes while easing pressure on acute services. ICBs are responsible for assessing local need and determining how best to deploy such tools, taking account of population health inequalities and access to services.