Our parliamentary launch events in Westminster, Wales and Holyrood were a huge success and brought together over 90 parliamentarians, clinicians, IBD nurses and health leaders. As a result, our policy campaign has been publicly backed by Eluned Morgan MS, the Minister for Health and Social Services, Humza Yousaf MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care and Maree Todd MSP, Minister for Public Health, Women's Health and Sport.
We were delighted to be joined at our events by Dr Robert Logan, National Specialty Adviser for Endoscopy and Screening for NHS England, Dr Barney Hawthorne, the National Clinical Lead for IBD in Wales and Dr Ian Arnott, Modernising Patient Pathways Programme (MPPP) National Clinical Lead for IBD in Scotland. These clinicians delivered keynote speeches, explaining why early diagnosis is important from a clinical perspective and the impact that delayed diagnosis has on the health service.
Dr Hawthorne, shared how talking about toilet habits are taboo and the need for a national diagnostic pathway for people with lower gastrointestinal symptoms.
Patients are often incredibly embarrassed by the condition and don't like talking about it. Many young people worry that they will be ignored or told it's nothing to worry about. But they will be taken seriously. My advice is do not delay and get checked if you have any symptoms. Crohn's and Colitis can be treated but you should not delay in seeing a healthcare professional as early diagnosis will be better.
Dr Arnott, told our guests in Scotland that:
Delayed diagnosis is something that is within our power to improve. To do this we must come together; patients, Crohn’s and Colitis UK, primary care, secondary care and NHS management. We must configure a diagnostic process that genuinely sees patients at the heart of everything it aims to achieve. Working together in the true sense of co-design and co-production, we can help improve the health of people living with Crohn’s and Colitis and their ability to participate in education, work and social life.
Results so far
Over 32,000 people have completed our online checker and received advice on whether they should contact their GP about their symptoms. If requested, they also receive an email with a list of their symptoms and a letter to take to their GP.
We have also had a fantastic amount of press coverage, including 519 cuttings since the start of the campaign. This coverage has included national, regional and local media outlets for broadcast, online and print.
National coverage included BBC online, The Independent, ITV online, MailOnline, Daily Mirror (print), Daily Mirror Northern Ireland (print), BBC Radio Wales and BBC Radio Asia. Several local BBC Radio stations also covered the campaign. Consultant Gastroenterologist Christian Selinger also appeared on Steph’s Packed Lunch on Channel 4 talking about the importance of early diagnosis.
We’ve also worked with NB Medical to release a podcast and a webinar aimed at GPs and later this month will be releasing a CPD module aimed at supporting a range of community healthcare professionals to recognise the signs and symptoms of IBD. We’ve been working with RCGP, supporting them to update the IBD toolkit into a newer format that is easier to navigate, and this will be released in early 2023 with an accompanying podcast. We've also made the existing CPD module freely available to all healthcare professionals - so please do take advantage of this and signpost it to others who might benefit.
Throughout 2023, we’ll be releasing more resources for healthcare professionals such as dietitians and pharmacists – make sure to keep a look-out in your inbox for any updates!
How to get involved
We can’t achieve early diagnosis without your help.
We would love our healthcare professional community to join us in raising awareness of this issue.
You can get involved by:
- Following us on social media, sharing our public awareness campaign, and letting people know this matters to you.
- Helping us to reach out to all healthcare professionals by sharing our resources page with your networks.
- Backing our call for early diagnosis. Help us to influence change in health policy, by pledging your support.
We are also looking for more healthcare professionals to get involved in raising awareness of the need for early diagnosis by taking part in podcasts, videos and media engagement. If you are interested please contact healthservices@crohnsandcolitis.org.uk.
Thank you to all of your who have supported the campaign so far.
