Seb has lived with ulcerative colitis since 2008, and is the founder and head of IBDrelief, a for-purpose company empowering people living with inflammatory bowel disease. He is passionate about improving quality of life for patients living with long-term conditions through better education and improved support to self manage their condition.
Seb is an ‘expert by experience’ volunteer with the team. He regularly attends outpatient clinics, meeting families and offering informal support and information, ensuring optimum communication between families and the team. With Jen, he is building a community where families can reach out to support each other, a vital addition to the care they receive from the clinical team. To complement the in clinic work, there is a Facebook group which gives families another platform to connect and seek support.
Seb has developed IBDmate, an online resource for young people with inflammatory bowel disease and their families to learn about their disease. It contains over 200 videos in ‘prescribable’ courses which cover a huge range of topics, delivered by a host of IBD professionals and IBD patients. IBDmate is now in use in a number of IBD centres in the UK.
Seb has supported the team’s first annual family day in April 2024 and annual Young scientist days, often in the role of photographer/videographer!
Seb is a key contributor to a programme of virtual Hangouts, which are regular online evening meetings for families in need of support, and a programme of Expert Hangouts, where members of the team give presentations and answer questions on topics nominated by families. His technical know-how ensures they are easy to access, run smoothly, and that families who cannot attend can view recordings afterwards.
As an NHS Clinical Entrepreneur, Seb works with patients, medical teams, researchers and industry, seeking solutions to some of the biggest challenges in inflammatory bowel disease today.