Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to make treatment available to people with Irritable bowel syndrome.

We recognise the significant impact that irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) can have on a person’s quality of life. We want a society where every person, including those with one or more long-term conditions like IBS, receives high-quality, compassionate care.

To support the early diagnosis and effective management of IBS, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has produced guidance, which is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg61

NICE has also produced guidance specifically on the use of faecal calprotectin tests as a way of diagnosing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This is a non-invasive, inexpensive method for assessing patients, which has a 90% sensitivity for distinguishing between IBD and IBS.

The Royal College of General Practitioners has produced an e-learning module on the IBS pathway. The course covers the investigation of patients who present with lower gastrointestinal symptoms that are likely to be IBS, the red flags to look out for, how to make a confident diagnosis in primary care, and how to manage patients in line with NICE guidance.