Sign our open letter!

It's time for change for people living with Crohn's and Colitis.

The new UK Government has promised to prioritise bringing down NHS waiting lists. Their plan needs to cut the wait for people living with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) across diagnosis, treatment, and care. Delays to diagnosis, poor access to services, and long waits for surgery can cost lives and is costing the NHS financially.

Will you add your name to our open letter, and ask the UK Government to prioritise the needs of people living with IBD?

Things need to change fast. That's why we're calling on the new Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the UK Government to take the needs of people with Crohn's and Colitis seriously by:

• Making sure GPs refer people with symptoms for the right tests at the right time.
• Investing in the IBD workforce.
• Reforming homecare medicine services.
• Enforcing targets for planned IBD surgery.

We can't do this without your support. Sign our open letter today and demand the UK Government prioritises the needs of people living with Crohn's and Colitis.

• Click here to read the open letter

  Dear Secretary of State,

  We are increasingly concerned about the severe and life-threatening consequences of long waiting lists in the NHS for people with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). We are pleased that the new Government has made cutting waiting lists one of its five national missions. However, getting those living with IBD faster access to diagnosis, treatment and care needs urgently addressing.

  An average of 25,000 people a year are diagnosed with Crohn's or Colitis, the two main forms of IBD, which is 66 people a day. There are now over half a million people living in the UK with IBD, twice as many people than previous official estimates.

  People with Crohn’s and Colitis now face prolonged delays at every stage of their diagnosis, treatment, and care. It’s not only patients who are seriously affected by the impact of these delays. It places enormous pressures on A&E departments and other parts of the health service, which also comes at a huge financial cost to the NHS. It is therefore crucial that the plan to bring down waiting times includes action to tackle long waits affecting people with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).

  Things must change and fast. The majority of IBD services in the country were resourced using the outdated estimates. This mismatch means gastroenterology has some of the worst waiting times across the healthcare sector. It is time that people with IBD were prioritised within the current healthcare system.

  Getting those living with IBD faster access to diagnosis and treatment needs decisive action and practical solutions. That is why we are calling on you and the new UK Government to commit to the following in their focus on tackling waiting lists:

  • Make sure GPs refer people with symptoms for the right tests at the right time by supporting the implementation of a national diagnostic pathway for gut conditions.
  • Invest in the IBD workforce to meet the IBD Standards nationwide. This includes making sure diagnostic services can cope with demand, resourcing multidisciplinary IBD teams and ensuring there are enough IBD nurses to meet safe staffing levels.
  • Reform homecare medicine services, so the health of people with IBD is not put at risk from flares or complications because of missed medications and failures in the system.
  • Prioritising IBD surgery by introducing an incentivised target for colorectal surgery, so no-one with Crohn’s or Colitis is left waiting for a planned operation.

  
  Crohn's & Colitis UK has further evidence on the impact of delays and can offer solutions that will not only benefit patients, but can also reduce pressures on NHS departments and finances. We would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss how we can best work together to improve the lives of people with Crohn’s and Colitis. We look forward to your response.

  Yours sincerely,

  Marianne Radcliffe CEO Crohn’s & Colitis UK + supporter signatures