The Leicester Intestinal Failure Team (LIFT) provides specialist nutritional and Intestinal Failure Care to patients in Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Rutland and North Cambridgeshire. University Hospitals of Leicester (UHL) provides a number of tertiary level Gastroenterology and Surgical services and is one of the largest clinical Gastroenterology centres in the UK. In addition to receiving patients from within all clinical specialties in UHL, including the UHL Cancer Centre and Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, the Intestinal Failure Team takes referrals from other hospitals within the region.
Intestinal Failure is a rare condition in which the small intestine is unable to digest and/or absorb the correct amount of nutrients, or is not able to reabsorb fluids produced by the intestine. Most commonly this is a result of surgery or a chronic condition causing the gut to fail. Most patients will require a period of Parenteral Nutrition (PN) in order to stabilise their clinical condition. This will be started during a stay in the hospital either on our specialist Intestinal Failure Unit on Ward 43 Leicester Royal Infirmary or on one of our surgical wards. Patients are reviewed on a daily basis by our Intestinal Failure Team during their stabilisation and, once stable, may move to our step down Intestinal Failure beds on Ward 42 prior to discharge home.
Patients going home on Parenteral Nutrition (HPN) will be followed up in one of our Multi-Disciplinary Intestinal Failure clinics. In the Intestinal Failure clinic we also provide specialist assessment and management of patients with complex nutritional problems such as entero-cutaneous fistulae or high output stoma secondary to short bowel syndrome.
Our Nutrition Nurse Specialists provide a weekly enteral tube feeding assessment clinic on the Leicester General Site. Our nurses have a large amount of experience in the management of enteral feeding tubes and are happy to discuss any tube feeding problems.
To find out more about the team visit our Meet the Team page.
How to Contact Us and make a Referral:
If you are a doctor wanting to make an inpatient referral to the Intestinal Failure Unit please complete the Parenteral Nutrition referral form at the bottom of this page and fax it to 0116 258 6598 and contact any of our Consultants via the UHL switchboard on 0300 303 1573.
If you are a clinician wanting to speak to our Nutrition Nurses or Specialist Dietitians please call 0116 258 6988.
If you are a patient on Home Parenteral Nutrition and have problems with your PN, you should first contact your home care company and otherwise should contact the Nutrition Support Team on 0116 258 6988.
To make a referral for Enteral Tube Feeding assessment, please fax the Enteral Nutrition Referral form below to 0116 258 6598 or post to Leicester Intestinal Failure and Feeding Team, Level 1, Victoria Building, Leicester Royal Infirmary, Leicester, LE1 5WW.
To refer to the Intestinal Failure Clinic or our Surgical Intestinal Failure service please fax the Parenteral Nutrition Referral form below to 0116 258 6598. The referral will be reviewed by one of our Consultants and triaged to the appropriate clinic. If it is felt that the referral is not appropriate it will be returned with a covering letter.
Please see here for our high output stoma guidelines.
Links
Patients on Intravenous & Nasogastric Nutrition (PINNT)
A Support Group for people receiving artificial nutrition
You can also find PINNT on twitter @PINNTCharity
Leicestershire Nutrition & Dietetic Service