Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of appointing a National Clinical Director within NHS England for coeliac disease.

NHS England has invested in senior clinical leadership in gastroenterology, which includes coeliac disease, as a priority workstream in the national Getting It Right First Time programme.

To support healthcare professionals in the diagnosis and management of coeliac disease, and improve the diagnostic pathway nationally, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has produced the guidance, Coeliac disease: recognition, assessment and management [NG20].

NICE guidelines represent best practice, and both healthcare professionals, including general practitioners, and service commissioners are expected to take them fully into account. Guidelines published by the NICE are not mandatory, and do not replace the judgement of clinicians in determining the most appropriate treatment for individual patients.

To assist with increasing the visibility of coeliac disease, the NICE promotes guidance via its website, newsletters, and other media. It also publishes information for the public, which explains the care people with coeliac disease should receive, as set out in the NICE guideline. Information for the public on coeliac disease is also published by the National Health Service and is available on the NHS website.