David graduated from Robert Gordons University, Aberdeen in 1995. David worked in various acute hospital settings in both Aberdeen and his home Orkney. A move to the unique high dependency gastrointestinal bleeding unit in Aberdeen, was the catalyst for a career in GI nursing. Two years were also spent in GI research and developing a patient database resulting in a number of publications. In 2006, David took up post as the first IBD/Endoscopy Nurse specialist for NHS Grampian. Two years later David moved to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness to establish the first IBD nursing post there. David is passionate about ensuring IBD patients in a remote and rural area receive the highest standard of care possible. The team have developed unique systems of care which have won national recognition. David was the BJN IBD Nurse of the year 2017.

David is the children’s gastroenterology nurse at Hull Royal Infirmary, and as part of this role he is the children’s IBD nurse. David qualified in 2003 and before moving into this post worked on a children’s general medical ward, then on a PHDU, and for two years was a research nurse for paediatrics. David completed an MSc in 2011.

The children’s gastroenterology nurse was a new post when David started two years ago, and since he had no previous experience of gastroenterology as a speciality, undertaking the Salford IBD course (2015/16) was extremely useful. David’s next professional development objective is to become a nurse prescriber.

Graeme is 38 years old. He was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis in 2001 when studying in his final year at Loughborough University. In 2008, he was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. Graeme has spent time in Glenfield, Chesterfield and Sheffield (Northern General) Hospitals having had numerous treatments and surgeries. He is currently settled on Infliximab and regular iron infusions. Currently living in Chesterfield with his wife Jane, dog Luna and Frankie the cat.

Graeme is currently working full time as a Senior Planning Officer for the Local District Council and in 2011 completed a Masters degree in Urban and Regional Development.

Graeme enjoy all sports, but especially golf which he plays on a regular basis and enjoys taking his crazy Cocker Spaniel walks in the Peak District with his wife.

Fraser is a Consultant Gastroenterologist at Southampton General Hospital doing a mix of ward work, outpatients, endoscopy and research.  Dr Cummings looks after general gastroenterology patients and has a sub-specialty interest in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). He spent five years developing this clinical and research interest at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, prior to starting work in Southampton.

Gareth works as a Clinical Psychologist for the Tavistock & Portman NHS FT, in a service called the Team Around the Practice (TAP). We are based in GP surgeries around Camden, providing psychodynamically informed assessment, therapy and GP consultation for complex patients in primary care, including those with chronic physical health conditions. He is particularly interested in the links between bodily symptoms and psychological distress and the way in which this distress can impact upon clinical staff.

As a researcher, he has worked with nursing teams on a gastrointestinal ward at UCLH to explore barriers to optimal pain management, and have published articles on psychological approaches to functional bowel disorders and nursing education interventions for pain. As a clinician, he has found mindfulness-based therapies to be clinically useful in a range of settings, both as stand-alone treatments and as part of broader interventions.

Sharon has worked as a Specialist Nurse in Inflammatory Bowel Disease since 2000. She began her nursing career in 1997, working in the field of gastroenterology, developing an interest in IBD.

Sharon went onto develop a dedicated IBD service, running clinics alongside gastroenterologists and surgeons. She set up and expanded a dedicated telephone helpline as well as telephone clinics. Nurse-led clinics were set up across the Trust and she has since expanded out into the community where she has set up satellite clinics.

In 2004 Sharon was awarded a BA in nursing and in 2008 she qualified as an Independent nurse prescriber. In 2007 Sharon published her first article for Gastroenterology Nursing looking at the impact of telephone clinics, and in 2011 published a second article looking at self-management programme.

Sharon is currently in the final year of her Masters, in Nursing (Specialist Practice) with NMC SPQ.

Megan Houghton is a Specialist Gastroenterology Dietitian at King’s College Hospital in London. She looks after both the in – and out-patient dietetic services and has a specialist interest in the treatment of IBS. This has recently led to the creation of a dietetic led IBS service at King’s College Hospital where patients will be assessed by a dietitian as first line treatment instead of patients being seen by a gastroenterology consultant and then referred to dietetic services. She has used the low FODMAP dietetic successfully in many patients with IBD and find this a fascinating area. Megan works closely with gastroenterologists, specialist nurses and psychologists to provide a holistic IBS and IBD service.

Adele is a Specialist Pharmacist for Gastroenterology, employed by University Hospital South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust, with an interest in inflammatory bowel disease. Adele currently works closely with the gastroenterologists and IBD specialist nurses to optimise medical treatment for IBD patients. Adele has extensive experience as a Hospital Pharmacist working in various hospitals in Manchester and London. In addition, Adele has spent a significant part of her career working as a Clinical Tutor and Honorary Clinical Teacher for the University of Manchester; responsible for leading the development, implementation and assessment of practice based teaching for pharmacy Undergraduates.

Dr Stern trained in Medicine before training in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the Maudsley Hospital (London), and at the Lincoln Centre, now part of the BPF (British Psychotherapy Federation).

For 17 years he headed the unique Psychological Medicine unit at St Mark’s Hospital, Harrow, a hospital for patients with gastrointestinal disorders, before moving to the Tavistock Centre in 2010, where he has worked as Consultant Psychiatrist in Psychotherapy in the Adult Department. In 2016, he was appointed Director of Adult and Forensic Services in the Trust.

He has an interest in working psychologically in a medical setting, and in supporting specialist nurses. He has taught and published widely, in medical, nursing, psychotherapy and psychiatry journals. He is the co-editor of the popular textbook “Core Psychiatry”, as well as a new text to be published in late 2017 “Functional GI disorders: A biopsychosocial approach”.

Lindsey Straiton is an Inflammatory Bowel Clinical Nurse Specialist working within Lanarkshire NHS Trust in Scotland. She qualified with a BSc in Adult Nursing in 2007 from The University of Stirling. She has worked for the last 10 years in Gastroenterology nursing. She was a Senior Staff Nurse in a Gastroenterology unit prior to specialising in Inflammatory Bowel Nursing in 2013 in Forth Valley Royal Hospital, Larbert. She moved to Lanarkshire in 2016 to develop a single nurse IBD service. In January of this year she completed her distance learning IBD module at Salford University. Looking forward to 2018, Lindsey is embarking upon her Non-Medical Prescribing course at Glasgow Caledonian University.

Tracey Tyrrell is Lead Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) for the London Northwest Healthcare (LNWH) NHS Trust and has worked at the IBD Unit at St Mark’s hospital since 2008, successfully becoming a Lead IBD CNS in 2015.

She leads a team of six (band 7) IBD CNS’s which includes a Paediatric Gastro Nurse and four (band 6) IBD Biologics Nurses for the Trust. Tracey has a wide experience in managing one of the largest IBD Nursing teams in the UK if not the world completing the LNWH Leadership programme in March 2017.

Tracey has a wide experience of training both nurses in both the biologics service and nurse led clinics. She is currently completing her Masters due to start her physical assessment with Buckinghamshire University in February 2018.

Tracey has lectured nationally and internationally including Nurse European Crohn’s and Colitis organisation (N-ECCO). She has been chair of the RCN IBD Network London and South East region from September 2013 stepping down in 2016. Currently Tracey is the RCN IBD Network Special project co-ordinator since March 2017 and attends the national meetings regularly.