We know that there is significant waste in prescribing for stoma care. Our project aim was to improve stoma care, while reducing waste and reducing costs, by reviewing patients' treatments for stoma related care in GP practices, encouraging formulary adherence and delivering education and training to practice staff.
This SWH project employed a multidisciplinary approach to patient care. Our ICB lead stoma nurse providing the reviews and training has an expert clinical understanding of the more specialised stoma products. The delivery of education and training around stoma care and prescribing guidelines is integral to implementation, enabling practice staff to embed knowledge and skills, thereby creating a culture where high quality stoma care and prescribing is part of routine practice.
Implementation of the guidance, education and the practice-based reviews have driven up the quality of care for stoma patients, as well as kept the stoma spend per 1000 patients in SWH under both the England and East of England average, and the lowest area on this measure across the East of England. Based on the success of the project within SWH, these principles will be rolled out across our ICS in both East & North Hertfordshire (ENH) and West Essex (WE).
