A pioneering approach at Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital (RACH) is transforming the lives of north-east teenagers with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Seventeen-year-old *Rachel has been receiving care at RACH since being diagnosed with severe Crohn’s disease in early 2022.

After an initial hospitalisation and months of nasogastric treatment, Rachel began receiving infliximab therapy – an essential medication for managing her condition – by attending the hospital as an outpatient every six weeks.

This type of medication is delivered via a cannula, and the treatment takes around an hour, after the patient has seen their specialist and had the injection to have a cannula fitted.

Repeated difficulties with cannulation made the monthly hospital visits traumatic and uns

See Full Page