A THURROCK man has spoken up about how a piece of smart technology has changed his life.

Stephen Bonnington from Stanford-le-Hope suffers from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and Crohn's Disease but an innovation brought into use by Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust has given him a new lease of life.

He is one of more than 200 patients from Basildon, Southend and Broomfield hospitals - which now form the Trust after they were merged in April last year – who are already seeing the benefits of the home testing kit which runs on a smartphone.

The app gives them not just quick results but also reassurance by turning a mobile phone into a test reader to check samples at home.

Mr Bonnington was part of the pilot scheme at Basildon & Thurrock Hospital and is keen to highlight what a positive difference the app has made to his life.

He said: "I've had Crohn's Disease for 40 years so it's great that there is finally a self-testing kit and app that can help me manage my IBD myself. The results are instant so I don't have to worry about travelling into hospital especially during this Covid-19 pandemic.

As well as introducing new technology that is helping patients manage their own care, the self-testing kit is also enabling patients to have a greater understanding of their disease. Patients are getting their results much quicker than they would have previously.

Gastroenterology Department Lead Dr Pushpakaran Munuswamy said: "I'm seeing a huge difference already, because we can escalate treatment within a day or two of requesting the test. Previously, there was a wait of around four to six weeks or even longer depending on when the sample was taken and the capacity in the labs."

Jacqueline Roscoe, IBD nurse specialist, said: "The feedback from the patients has been excellent. They found the kits very easy to use and they really like the fact that they get to see the results quickly.

"These kits give the patients a better understanding of how their disease is doing, so they can see if their inflammatory markers are high or under control, and then take appropriate action. This provides real peace of mind which is hugely important."