Funding of the Royal London Paediatric G I Physiology unit
During 2013/14 PORT are extremely proud to be funding at a cost of £40,000 a formal paediatric section of the GI physiology unit. This unit will test gastro-intestinal physiology to help diagnose and manage patients with functional and motility gastro intestinal disorders. At present there is no dedicated time, space or paediatric nurse exclusively concentrated in paediatric functional disorders.
PORT are determined to rectify this. It is time to move forward and establish a specialised, dedicated State Of The Art Paediatric GI Physiology Unit.
Our thanks to Prof Daniel Sifrim, Dr Nigel Meadows, and Dr David Rowat of Barts and The Royal London for helping PORT with this project.
Sue Stewart
Chairperson PORT
Update from Dr Nigel Meadows
The PORT Paediatric GI Physiology Unit at Royal London Hospital
Over the last couple of years we have been very grateful, for the generosity of P.O.R.T. This has provided financial support to enable us to purchase, state of the art manometry equipment for children. The latest donation has given us the opportunity to recruit a dedicated paediatric nurse. Lucy will be able to support our young patients and parents during the investigations. She will also be pivotal in organising and documenting our activity, which we hope will improve the data for both the clinical service and research activity.
Gastro-intestinal physiology testing helps to diagnose and manage patients with functional and motility gastrointestinal disorders. This covers a wide range of problems including difficulties in swallowing, gastro-oesophageal reflux, delayed gastric emptying, small bowel motility problems, bacterial overgrowth, refractory constipation, ano-rectal dysfunction and disordered defecation.
The Paediatric Gastroenterology Department at the Royal London Hospital is considered one of the centres of excellence in the diagnosis and management of motility disorders in the UK. Indeed, it is one of the largest supra-regional referral centres for children with functional and GI motility disorders, thereby accepting referrals from throughout the UK.
The GI Diagnostic Physiology Unit at the Royal London Hospital is also unique as we undertake investigations in both adults and children. This therefore allows for the seamless transition of care of children to young adults. Our GI physiology Unit is equipped with state of the art diagnostic modalities and supervised by physicians with the highest expertise in the use of these novel techniques. Many of these diagnostic techniques were originally designed for adult use, but have now been adapted for paediatric use. The Royal London GI Physiology Unit is one of a few centres nationally and in Europe that can apply these technical advances to adult and paediatric patients and more importantly, with the expertise in the diagnosis and clinical management of GI functional disorders, thereby improve patient’s quality of life.
In the newly reconfigured Paediatric GI Unit, we use state-of-the-art equipment specifically designed to examine the motility of the gastro intestinal tract in children. Each child is evaluated and cared for by a team of experts, including paediatric gastroenterologists, physiologists and nurses. Our group is actively involved in leading scientific research to improve the understanding of complex gastro-intestinal functional disorders. We also undertake clinical research in order to recognise the natural history and therefore treatment outcomes of motility disorders, including reflux disease, achalasia, gastroparesis and intestinal pseudo-obstruction.
Dr Nigel Meadows