It’s always been our mission to support people with Crohn’s and Colitis, to give you the help and information you need to manage your life. And that duty became more important than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

As the situation escalated in March 2020, we had 16,000 queries over the phone, email or live chat from people wanting more information and support – that’s a massive 644% increase in emails and a 121% increase in calls compared with March 2019. We had never been more needed. 

Online, our COVID-19 information pages had 1.8 million views as we regularly updated them with the information you needed about the virus. We also ran Facebook Live events with healthcare experts, covering different aspects of coronavirus and how they might affect those with Crohn’s and Colitis.

One of the biggest issues you had was how to work out your Covid-19 risk level in order to follow safe social distancing and shielding guidelines. So, working with the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG), we put together a ‘decision tree’ to help you quickly discover your risk.  

We also helped develop an online tool, with the BSG and the IBD Registry, to more accurately determine your risk level. The 15 minute survey works out a risk level based on your personal, up-to-date, information. This data was regularly shared with hospital teams and 72,000 people accessed this tool in those vital early stages. 

We launched our Appointments Guide to help you get the most out of your time with healthcare professionals. And ‘My Appointments Journal’ was used by x amount of you to record how you’d been between appointments. As well as our tips for attending appointments virtually.