Crohn’s and Colitis Awareness Week

Andrew Stephenson Excerpts

Tuesday 12th December 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Health and Secondary Care (Andrew Stephenson)]

Let me start by congratulating the hon. Member for Livingston (Hannah Bardell) on securing this debate on this important issue. She is a tireless campaigner for those living with bowel conditions, particularly Crohn’s and colitis, and she has spoken movingly this evening about her own family’s experience of the condition. I also pay tribute to the hon. Members for Chesham and Amersham (Sarah Green), for Strangford (Jim Shannon), for Upper Bann (Carla Lockhart) and for East Renfrewshire (Kirsten Oswald) for their contributions. I will try to address as many of the points that have been made in the time allowed to me.

It is important that we all do everything we can to break the stigma and ensure that sufferers’ voices are heard. The hon. Member for Livingston has already done invaluable work in helping to re-establish the all-party group on Crohn’s and colitis. I also wish to pay tribute to the charities that support half a million people living with IBD across the UK all year round—Crohn’s and Colitis UK, the Crohn’s in Childhood Research Association, and the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, to name just a few. On this issue, as with so many others, it is vital that we do everything we can to break down the barriers to those affected from accessing healthcare. As Crohn’s and Colitis UK has said, “it takes guts” to come forward with your story, and I salute its “cut the crap” campaign. I look forward to working with the hon. Lady as we find solutions to improve the lives of people living with this disease. As she has rightly said, living with Crohn’s and colitis can be a daily struggle. Symptoms of the disease can be embarrassing, leading to people feeling isolated and not reaching out for the support they need.

I will focus briefly on three things my Department and NHS England are doing to help sufferers: raising professional awareness, improving diagnosis and research. I begin with the crucial point about raising awareness, as getting people diagnosed as early as possible is key.

There are two kinds of awareness. First, as the hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham mentioned, there is raising awareness among the public. Stigma is the invisible wall preventing people from seeking the help they need and campaigners are central to smashing that stigma, because of their reach into communities across the country. Campaigners, like the hon. Member for Livingston’s constituent Steven Sharp, have done much to raise awareness and break down that invisible wall. They encourage people to get to their GPs and ask the right questions. I am keen for us to be backing people like Steven every step of the way.

By helping GPs to recognise the symptoms of Crohn’s and colitis through NHS England’s “Getting it right the first time” gastroenterology programme, conditions can be diagnosed as quickly as possible. The programme supports primary care services, driving appropriate referrals and managing inflammatory bowel disease in the community, and is estimated to reduce emergency admissions by more than 6,500 a year. It has been commended by the King’s Fund, which is not always in the habit of showering praise on the Government.

It is also right that doctors should be properly trained to treat the symptoms of Crohn’s and colitis as they appear. In the past five years, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has produced a range of guidance to ensure that the care doctors provide for Crohn’s is based on the best possible evidence.

Early diagnosis can make a clear difference to people’s quality of life. We are working hard to improve early diagnosis rates through the “Getting it right the first time” programme and through measures that include more six and seven-day services, extended hours, reviewed and expanded endoscopy capacity, and improved patient flow. NHS England is working closely with front-line clinical experts, patient representatives and leading charities to develop evidence-based tools that improve care. The work includes provision of a right care scenario on inflammatory bowel disease. That will set out our expectations of high-quality, joined-up care at every point of the patient journey, from diagnosis to treatment. Officials assure me this is being finalised and will be delivered in the coming year.

NHS England’s national bladder and bowel health project is delivering better care to people with inflammatory bowel disease, with a focus on developing clinical pathways. Making a diagnosis of Crohn’s and colitis can be difficult and frustrating for patients as the condition can be confused with irritable bowel syndrome, so I am pleased that NICE has recently made faecal calprotectin tests available on the NHS as a non-invasive, inexpensive method for assessing patients before invasive procedures are required.

As the Minister responsible for life sciences, I am passionate that we can do everything we can to accomplish better patient outcomes through investing more in research. That is key to gaining a better understanding of the causes of inflammatory bowel disease, leading to better diagnosis, treatment and outcomes.

[Jim Shannon]

I thank the Minister for his comprehensive response, by which I am sure hon. Members are encouraged. However, the hon. Member for Livingston and I asked specifically about PIPs, which we are very concerned about. I know that is not the Minister’s responsibility, but will he undertake to speak to the relevant Minister to ensure there are movements to help and improve that system?

[Andrew Stephenson]

I am happy to give the hon. Member that undertaking. As he rightly acknowledges, I am not a Department for Work and Pensions Minister. I do not want to tread on their toes, but I will be relaying the clear views expressed during the debate to DWP Ministers because it is important that we get the benefit system right to support all people living with conditions such as these.

I will, if I may, return to the research point. We are investing more than £1 billion a year in health research with the National Institute of Health and Care Research. We are funding 60 projects on Crohn’s and colitis research, backed by more than £33 million over the past five years. I appeal to every scientist who may be interested in research in this area to keep applying for grants through the NIHR. I will leave no stone unturned in finding out what more can be done to address the needs of people affected by these conditions. I look forward to working with the hon. Lady to create the kind of care that people deserve. Whatever our political differences, I am sure that we will agree that half a million people living with inflammatory bowel disease are entitled to the highest possible standards of care and support.

I will continue engaging with the hon. Lady and with NHS England to make sure that the “Getting it right first time” programme is delivering results for patients on the ground. I began this speech by talking about the invisible wall preventing people from accessing the healthcare that they need. Let us tear down that wall together.

Question put and agreed to.