Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he (a) is taking to improve the treatment of irritable bowel disease and (b) plans to take to speed up diagnosis of that disease to enable faster access to specialist treatment; and if he will make a statement.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) best practice guidance on irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and the corresponding quality standard sets out recommendations for clinicians on the diagnosis and care for patients. Clinicians should take this guidance into account, when making treatment decisions for patients suffering with IBS. NICE also maintains surveillance of new evidence will review this guidance if required.