Allied Health Professionals

Sonia Kumar Excerpts

Thursday 23rd April 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sonia Kumar (Dudley) (Lab)]

Happy St George’s day to everyone in the Chamber. As a physiotherapist, I am immensely grateful to have the opportunity to co-lead this debate on the contribution of allied health professionals. This is an historic moment, as it is the first ever debate in this House on AHPs.

I thank the Backbench Business Committee for granting the debate, and I am particularly grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Jen Craft) for her leadership and partnership. She set out powerfully why AHPs must be central to SEND and paediatric reform, and I want to broaden that by arguing that AHPs are the NHS’s best-kept secret. They are the most powerful levers we have to keep our health and social care systems sustainable, patient-centred and effective. If we are serious about delivering the Government’s ambition in the 10-year health plan and the 10-year workforce plan—the shifts from hospital to community, from sickness to prevention and from analogue to digital—then allied health professionals must be put at the heart of policy, planning and delivery.

I want to do three things today. First, I want to set out who AHPs are and the scale of their contribution across our lives; secondly, I want to demonstrate with evidence the impact they have on outcomes and on public finances, and why they are worth investing in; and thirdly, I want to set out five concrete demands, recommendations or wishes to the Government, rooted in evidence from AHP bodies and aligned with the three major shifts in the Government’s agenda.

Who are allied health professionals? There are 14 allied health professions covering 15 roles, and together, AHPs form the third largest clinical workforce in the NHS, with over 300,000 on the Health and Care Professions Council register today. They include art therapists, drama therapists, music therapists, dietitians, occupational therapists, operating department practitioners, orthoptists, osteopaths, paramedics, physiotherapists, podiatrists, prosthetists and orthotists, radiographers and, finally, speech and language therapists—which I may need after this speech!

AHPs are present from the start of our lives. Neonatal therapists, including physiotherapists, OTs and speech and language therapists, support premature and sick babies to feed, move and develop, with long-term gains for their health, learning and independence. In adulthood, AHPs are central to keeping us in work and out of hospital. The Government rightly want to get more people back into work, which is exactly what OTs do. OTs run vocational rehab services that enabled 94% of people on long-term sick in one primary care network in Wakefield to return to work, leading to a 40% reduction in fit notes and preventing over 1,700 people from leaving the workforce.

If we want a healthier workforce, dietitians help diabetics to reduce the risk of complications by up to 50%, and people who see a dietitian are two and a half times more likely to achieve their blood sugar targets, which means fewer long-term complications, fewer heart attacks and fewer strokes.

For older people, physiotherapists and OTs lead fall-prevention services and frailty programmes that reduce falls at home by around a third, preventing injuries and avoidable hospital admissions, reducing fractures and maintaining patients’ dignity. I have treated patients who have fallen in their home, who have lain on the floor for hours waiting for an ambulance to arrive. One patient said she lost her dignity and her self-worth as she sat in her own urine, dehydrated, hungry and helpless on the floor, waiting for help. We can reduce such cases. Nobody wants their grandmother, relative or friend to be left on the floor, helpless, for hours.

Earlier access to community podiatry, meanwhile, could reduce amputations by 80%. My podiatry friends prevent the need for life-changing surgery every single day. I have worked on surgical wards where patients said time and time again that they wished they had had intervention earlier. Prosthetists and orthotists ensure that people who have survived major trauma can regain their independence. A seven-day prosthetic service in south-east London reduced the time for lower-limb amputees to become independent with a prosthesis from three months to just seven weeks—so they gained their independence more quickly. Radiographers underpin around 80% of hospital pathways through imaging, and community diagnostic centres staffed by radiographers reduce pressure on urgent and emergency care; I may say that I recently gained one such centre, through this Labour Government, at the Guest hospital.

We have a mental health crisis, and both children and adults are not getting care quickly enough. Art therapists and music and drama therapists provide early intervention in schools and communities, reducing referrals into overwhelmed child and adolescent mental health services and supporting the wellbeing and resilience of NHS staff themselves.

My argument is not just about the care case, however; the economic case is just as compelling. We have clear return on investment data across multiple professions. Self-referral to AHP services has shown a return of around £98 for every £1 invested, by reducing unnecessary GP appointments and enabling early management. Exercise-based self-management programmes, often led by physiotherapists, have demonstrated returns of around £8.80 per £1 invested.

Nutritional interventions led by dietitians to prevent and treat malnutrition deliver returns of about £10 for every £1 invested. Osteopathic care can generate a return of up to £2 per £1 invested in primary care. Physiotherapists across a range of conditions deliver an overall economic return on investment of £4 for every £1 invested, which, modelling suggests, potentially saves the NHS a staggering £700 million over five years and an additional £639 million overall of economic benefit to the UK.

The Government have set out three core shifts, and AHPs are already delivering on all three. First, on digital and data, paramedics are leading “hear and treat” models, using teleconsultations and shared electronic records to assess, advise and refer 999 and 111 callers without always needing to dispatch an ambulance. In London, that approach is saving around 9,200 double-crewed ambulance hours each week, allowing crews to reach the sickest patients faster.

Secondly, on the shift from hospital to neighbourhood care, advanced paramedics working in primary care and urgent community response teams carry out same-day home visits, treat people where they are and prevent unnecessary trips to A&E. A Welsh model reduced avoidable hospital visits by up to 70%. Operating department practitioners are the only profession trained at graduation to work across anaesthetics, surgery and recovery. They can tackle the elective backlog and maintain safety, especially as robotic-assisted surgery and smart operating theatres expand.

Thirdly, on the shift to prevention over sickness, orthoptists are essential to diagnosing early eye conditions and they should be rolled out to screen our children in every school so they can get the best start to life. If we do not fully integrate AHPs into those three shifts, we will simply not achieve the ambitions of the 10-year health plan or the 10-year workforce plan.

Let me turn to my five recommendations, drawing on the evidence from the HCPC, from the expert AHP professional bodies, from patients and from the APPG on AHPs, which I chair. First, we must have AHP leadership at the table at every level. That means retaining and strengthening the chief allied health professions officer role and the director of rehabilitation role in the Department of Health and Social Care. If they are not at the heart of Government, they will simply be forgotten. At system level, every integrated care board and major provider should have a senior AHP director who has parity with medical and nursing directors and is responsible for prevention, rehabilitation and neighbourhood care. That should be mirrored in primary care and neighbourhood boards, where clinical leadership roles should be defined by function and capability, not by base profession.

Secondly, we should expand and evaluate advanced and extended-scope AHP roles in the areas where there is most need and they have most value, such as first-contact physiotherapists in primary care, who reduce secondary care referrals, speed up diagnosis and recovery, and reduce opioid prescribing compared with GP-led care.

Thirdly, we must invest in AHP careers from start to retirement. That means increasing training places in line with population need for each of the 14 professions, while also protecting small and vulnerable professions such as prosthetics and orthotics with minimum training place guarantees. We should fully fund AHP apprenticeships, including for operating department practitioners and dietitians, with backfill. We should guarantee high-quality placements and structured preceptorships—something often forgotten by departments.

We should also embed continuing professional development funding that is embedded into workforce planning, recognising that CPD is a regulatory requirement and a patient safety issue, not a luxury. That includes bringing forward independent prescribing rights across AHP professions, where appropriate, to reduce delays and free up medical time, building on recent legislation for paramedics.

Fourthly, we must fix the digital plumbing to enable multidisciplinary care. AHPs need full, appropriate access to shared care records, ordering and results systems, and remote care tools. Where they have prescribing responsibilities, their digital profiles must reflect that in order for prescribing to be safe, visible and integrated with the whole system. Data must also capture what AHPs do and the outcomes they achieve in function, independence, return to work, quality of life and participation; it is not just contacts and processes.

Fifthly, we should make AHP outcomes visible and use them to drive improvements across the system. At national level, the NHS and DHSC should publish regular data on AHP workforce numbers, vacancies and outcomes across each of the 14 professions, using HCPC and other data to inform the workforce plan and the neighbourhood health framework. At local level, integrated care systems should be required to report on access to AHP services and on key indicators such as falls, amputations, delayed discharge, return to work rates and SEND outcomes, linking those to AHP provision. Where investment in, for example, community podiatry or OT rehabilitation leads to reductions in admissions or benefits, those should be visible and reinvested.

Five demands—five things that would show real progress, backed by experts, backed by patients. I hope the Minister will meet me to discuss them further. If we give AHPs the leadership roles, tools and recognition they deserve, if we embed them in the 10-year workforce plan, in neighbourhood health plans, in SEND reforms and in the women’s health strategy, they will repay us over and over again in reduced hospital admissions, shorter stays, fewer amputations, more people in work, and children and adults able to communicate, learn and live independently. Allied health professionals are ready to deliver, if we choose to let them.

Osteoporosis and Bone Health

Sonia Kumar Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd April 2026 Westminster Hall

[Sonia Kumar (Dudley) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered osteoporosis and bone health.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Lewell. As a practising physiotherapist, I have seen at first hand the profound and often devastating impact that osteoporosis can have on not only the health, but the independence and livelihood of an individual and the lives of those who care for them. For too long, osteoporosis has been dismissed as an unavoidable consequence of ageing, and we have normalised the gradual stoop, the loss of height, and the curvature of the spine. We all recognise the familiar road sign depicting an elderly couple bent double, yet we rarely stop to question what it truly represents.

In reality, it is not a benign or natural process. It is often the visible consequence of repeated, preventable spinal fractures, where the bone of the spine collapses under pressure. This is not an unavoidable decline; it is, in many cases, a preventable harm.

[Adam Dance (Yeovil) (LD)]

Constituents such as Susan have suffered pain and changes to their life because of osteoporosis. Does the hon. Member share the concern of both Susan and I: that we will not see proper fracture liaison services in overlooked rural areas without a fully funded implementation plan to end the postcode lottery for these services?

[Sonia Kumar]

I believe that we should be rolling those services out across the entire country, and I will come on to that in the rest of my speech. I am sure that the Minister will also comment on that.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I commend the hon. Lady and thank her for the work that she did on this before she came to this place. We are very much indebted to her. Does she agree that the fact that this condition affects one in two women and one in four men over the age of 50 means that there should be greater awareness? The fact that there are some 72,000 people living with osteoporosis in Northern Ireland alone highlights the need to ensure that people know that they can do some things themselves, and that calcium and vitamin D could make such a difference to their quality of life as they age—I speak as one who is ageing quickly.

[Sonia Kumar]

The hon. Member comes to this with a lot of experience. I agree that people do not know what osteoporosis is, which is why we are having this debate. It is important to discuss what it actually is. For those less familiar with it, osteoporosis is a disease characterised by low bone mass and a structural deterioration of bone tissue, resulting in an increase in bone fragility and a susceptibility to fractures. Osteoporosis is asymptomatic and often remains undiagnosed until a fragility fracture occurs. It develops silently, without symptoms, until the moment that it declares itself—a fall from a standing height causes a fracture, or a twist or even a cough causes a low-grade insufficiency fracture. Normal stress has an abnormal effect on the bone. The bone is able to withstand the stress, but because it is of such poor quality, it then crumbles.

--- Later in debate ---

[Rachel Taylor]

As someone who is taking medication to ward off the progression of osteoporosis, I was delighted to welcome Bedford’s new state-of-the-art physical activity hub, which will help residents to stay active and stop their osteoporosis developing. I would like the Minister to explain how the Government will make better use of the growing physiotherapy workforce to deliver early intervention, fracture prevention and rehabilitation in the community in places such as the Bedford physical activity hub.

[Sonia Kumar]

If someone says physio, I am always going to say, “Yes, yes, yes,” behind them. I agree with my hon. Friend that we should roll out physiotherapists and the multidisciplinary teams required to help those with osteoporosis. I also thank her for highlighting the importance of taking bone-sparing medication. Many people in the UK do not take it because they do not understand its importance.

More than 3.2 million people in England now live with osteoporosis, including just over 2.5 million women. One in two women over 50 will suffer a fracture caused by osteoporosis, as will one in five men. In terms of years lost to premature mortality and disability, those fractures are the fourth most consequential medical condition in the country. At any given time, around 7% of NHS beds are occupied by patients with fragility fractures, many of them because early warning signs were missed and opportunities to intervene were lost. Behind those figures are lives changed in an instant.

It is not just older people. One young woman told me:

“I thought my bones were something I wouldn’t have to think about until I was much older”,

only to find herself dealing with low bone density in her twenties after medical treatment. Some risk factors for osteoporosis include smoking, alcohol misuse, previous fragility fractures, low body mass index and long-term steroid use. Every single one of those factors needs to be looked after. We cannot look at osteoporosis as a one-condition problem; we must look at the whole lifestyle.

Through the work of the all-party parliamentary group on osteoporosis and bone health, which I chair, I heard from patients whose stories are not easily forgotten. A woman in her early sixties fractured her wrist after a minor fall. She was treated and discharged, but no one joined the dots. Within two years, she had suffered multiple further fractures, including to her spine. She now lives with constant pain from repeated spinal fractures, affecting everything from how she breathes to how she moves.

I think of those who never recover their independence —of people who go into hospital with a hip fracture and never come home. For many, that fracture marks the beginning of the end, with over a quarter dying within one year. What unites these stories is not bad luck, and they are not isolated tragedies. They are systemic failures: a missed referral, an overlooked warning sign, treatment not initiated, and a second fracture that should not have happened. That is why it is essential that, after a first fracture, every patient is identified, assessed and supported on to an appropriate treatment plan. One fracture must not become many.

Too often, the fall that brings someone into hospital is treated as a single event, rather than as an accumulation of undiagnosed and untreated conditions. We therefore miss the opportunity to change the course of someone’s life. Through the work of the APPG on osteoporosis and bone health, I have also seen stark variations in access to treatment across the country. Prescribing rates for critical second-line therapy are three and a half times higher in areas where GPs can prescribe it freely compared with areas where there is a need for specialist referral. A report has also found that GPs in more affluent areas are much more likely to be able to prescribe freely than their counterparts in the most deprived areas.

For people in many parts of the country, the barriers do not stop at the prescription pad. When shared care arrangements are not in place and GPs cannot prescribe, patients must attend hospital for routine injections that could be delivered safely in the community. As the Government develop the neighbourhood health service, there is a real opportunity for a multidisciplinary team approach to bone health, one that includes at its heart our allied health professionals, including physiotherapists, dieticians, occupational therapists, falls teams, consultants and advanced practice clinicians. Prevention, prevention, prevention is the key. The importance of a holistic approach is essential to prevention for those who may be susceptible to poor bone health. We should help those people lead healthier lives by stopping smoking, reducing alcohol intake and increasing exercise.

Talking of prevention, I need to welcome the Government’s commitment to fracture liaison services, which are the gold standard for fracture care and play an important role in identifying, assessing and treating osteoporosis in people over the age of 50 with a fracture. FLSs reduce fracture rates by up to 40%, and will prevent 74,000 fractures over five years, including 31,000 hip fractures. FLSs are also incredible value for money, breaking even within 18 to 24 months, with a return on investment over five years of £1.88 for every £1. Preventable osteoporotic fractures contribute to 1.5 million days off sick, costing employers £142 million in sick pay.

I also welcome the new DEXA—dual energy X-ray absorptiometry—scanners that the Minister’s Department has delivered, and the Government’s commitment to ending the postcode lottery for fracture prevention services. The Minister understands the scale of what is at stake. This must be only the start of managing osteoporosis and bone health.

Looking ahead, we know that the challenges will grow. By 2047, an estimated 4 million people in England will be living with osteoporosis, an increase of more than 700,000 on today’s figures. We know the scale of the problem, we know the treatments, and we have the evidence. What we have lacked for too long is urgency. There has been clear progress, and the Minister deserves credit for that.

I have three recommendations for the Department. First, we should roll out fracture liaison services to all parts of England. We are a Labour Government, and reducing inequalities is in our blood. We pledged to end this postcode lottery by 2030, and it is crucial that we deliver that. Secondly, we should introduce questions about bone density and osteoporosis in the health check for over-40s. Such pre-emptive measures, including risk stratification, lifestyle advice and early intervention where appropriate, can help people to deal with these issues before they become too serious. Thirdly, we should introduce targeted case finding and proactive bone health management for those aged 70 and above, particularly those at high risk of falls. That should include timely access to DEXA scanning, community-based treatment pathways, and co-ordinated fall prevention to help reduce fractures and associated mortality.

Osteoporosis is not an unavoidable consequence of ageing. It is a condition that we can prevent, predict and treat, yet for too many and for too long the first sign —the fracture—is missed. We know what works and we have the tools. Under the 14 years of the previous Conservative Government, we were missing consistency, urgency and the willingness to act. If we get this right, prevent the first fracture and intervene decisively after it, and ensure equal access to care regardless of postcode, we will not only save the NHS significant cost, but preserve something far more valuable: people’s independence, dignity and quality of life.

I hope that the Minister will consider my three recommendations and meet me to discuss them further. Osteoporosis is not just a clinical issue; it is a test of whether our health system truly prioritises the long-term health of everyone across the United Kingdom, and not reactive, short-term measures.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Mrs Sharon Hodgson)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Dudley (Sonia Kumar) for securing this important debate. She continues to work as a physiotherapist alongside her role as a serving MP, so she brings a wealth of valuable professional clinical experience and knowledge to this debate. I would be very happy to meet her afterwards to discuss her three recommendations.

I also thank her for her as the chair of the APPG on osteoporosis and bone health. As an MP for 21 years, I have done lots of work on APPGs, and I am—as I know our Chair today is—a big supporter of all APPGs. The work they do is so important and can really make changes to policy. My hon. Friend’s APPG does important work in raising awareness of osteoporosis, advocating for improvements to the care that patients receive, and promoting behavioural and system changes that are designed to strengthen bones and prevent osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis is estimated to affect more than 3 million people in the UK, and each year over half a million patients present to hospitals with fragility fractures. It is important that we acknowledge the significant impact that osteoporosis can have on individuals and their loved ones. It can seriously impact every aspect of a person’s life, as we have heard, and has a significant impact on the NHS and the wider economy. We hear too often—as we have today—of patients experiencing painful fractures that could have been prevented, of patients living in fear of having further fractures, and the impact that that has on their independence, wellbeing and quality of life. We recognise the importance of bone health and the benefits that early identification of people at risk of osteoporosis and the prevention of fragility fractures can bring.

The 10-year health plan sets out a vision for a health and care system that delivers more personalised, integrated and proactive care for people with long-term and complex conditions, including osteoporosis and other musculoskeletal conditions. More tests and scans delivered in the community, better joined-up working between services and greater use of technology will all support people in the management of osteoporosis. The neighbourhood health service, supported by the neighbourhood health framework that we published last month, will ensure that people can better access care that is joined up, personalised and designed to proactively meet their needs. Initiatives such as Diagnosis Connect will also directly refer patients to specialist charities at the point of diagnosis for personalised advice, information, guidance and support.

Resources are already in place to help support healthcare professionals in the early diagnosis of osteoporosis, such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence clinical knowledge summary on osteoporosis and the prevention of fragility fractures. The Royal College of General Practitioners also has an e-learning module for GPs on the diagnosis and management of osteoporosis, developed in collaboration with the Royal Osteoporosis Society—I am sure that my hon. Friend the Member for Dudley was telling me that she was the chair or the president of the society.

[Sonia Kumar]

indicated dissent.

[Mrs Hodgson]

It must have been another body—I am giving her jobs that she has never had.

That e-module is designed to support the early diagnosis of osteoporosis by highlighting which groups are at higher risk of osteoporosis and fragility fractures.

Progress is being made on increasing early diagnosis and management of osteoporosis. Last year, more than 16,000 extra bone density—or DEXA—scans were delivered compared with the previous year, but we recognise there is still much more we can do. That is why on 1 March, the Government announced funding for 20 new DEXA scanners across England, supported by £2.4 million of investment. Tens of thousands of patients will benefit from faster access to bone scans as a result, and it will help ensure that people with bone conditions, such as osteoporosis, get diagnosed earlier.

Fracture liaison services can play a vital role in reducing the risk of refracture, improving quality of life and increasing years lived in good health, which is what we all want to see. The Government and NHS England support the clinical case for services that help prevent fragility fractures and support the patients who sustain them. We are committed to rolling out fracture liaison services to every part of the country by 2030. Integrated care boards remain well placed to make decisions according to local need. The renewed women’s health strategy published last week sets an expectation that ICBs prioritise community-based models when commissioning new fracture prevention services.

However, we need to be honest about the scale of the action needed, the challenges faced across the health and care system, and that change will not be possible overnight. Musculoskeletal community services have the longest waiting lists of all adult community services in England. We know that patients, including those with osteoporosis, are waiting too long for care and treatment, and that needs to change.

To support people with MSK conditions, such as osteoporosis, to access services when they need them, we are delivering the “Getting it right first time” MSK community delivery programme, which is working to transform MSK community services, reduce MSK community waiting times, improve data and metrics, and implement referral pathways to wider support services. As part of a major transformation of the NHS under the 10-year health plan, patients with MSK conditions, such as osteoporosis, will also soon be able to bypass their GPs and directly access community services, including physiotherapy, pain management and orthopaedics, in the NHS app.

The landmark change will deliver faster treatment for the flare-up of existing conditions, while enabling GPs to focus on more complex cases, reducing pressure on hospitals and freeing up GP practices. As we have heard, osteoporosis affects around one in three women, compared with one in five men. We know that women are at greater risk of osteoporosis due to the decrease in oestrogen production at the menopause, which accelerates bone loss.

Since 2022, two new drugs have been recommended by NICE for the treatment of osteoporosis in post-menopausal women. I was so glad to hear the intervention from my hon. Friend the Member for North Warwickshire and Bedworth (Rachel Taylor), who said she had taken some of those new medications. They help to strengthen bones and prevent bone loss, reducing the risk of fractures. The renewed women’s health strategy published last week sets out our ambition to support healthy ageing, maintain independence and improve quality of life for women, while also reducing avoidable pressure on hospital services.

Turning to work and health, the Government are committed to supporting disabled people and those with health conditions, including MSK conditions such as osteoporosis, with their employment journey. We therefore have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back to work. We are joining up health and employment support around the individual through the WorkWell programme, MSK hubs, the MSK community delivery programme, and the individual placement and support in primary care initiative. Measures also include support from work coaches and disability employment advisers in jobcentres, and access to work grants.

We also recognise the benefits of physical activity in improving bone strength and reducing the risk of fractures. We are exploring ways to expand access to MSK physical activity hubs in the community, enabling the delivery of evidence-based physical activity interventions for individuals with MSK conditions. By aligning with employment support at local level, this project will seek to improve both health and work outcomes for people with MSK conditions, such as osteoporosis, while prioritising those experiencing unmet MSK health needs and living in areas of deprivation, with the aim of addressing health inequalities.

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Dudley again for securing this important debate and all the work she does in this area, and I thank other hon. Members for being present and for raising insightful points during the debate. I hope hon. Members are reassured by some of the measures I have outlined. I recognise that we must go further, but I reaffirm the Government’s commitment to support the millions of people in the UK who are living with osteoporosis to ensure that they get the support they need, including improved diagnosis and management. I look forward to meeting with my hon. Friend.

Question put and agreed to.

Women’s Health Strategy

Sonia Kumar Excerpts

Thursday 16th April 2026 Commons Chamber

[Karin Smyth]

It is hard to know where to start. I heard the word “welcome” somewhere in the hon. Lady’s remarks, so thanks for that.

In launching what we call a “renewed strategy” we have given credit to the previous strategy, which we welcomed when we were in opposition. However, on issues where there could be cross-party agreement, from going to war to the women’s health strategy, the Conservatives’ modus operandi is now to give nothing for us to work on together on behalf of the people who we represent. It is disappointing that they choose to start on a negative and really they could have done better.

In opposition, we welcomed the initiative to have a women’s health strategy and we supported that work going forward, which has led to the publication of this renewed strategy, because the diagnosis of many of the issues was right. However, as I have made clear, we are upending the system because for decades the health service was built around the work and health needs of men and the predominance of men working in the system, despite the fact that 77% of our nursing staff are women. We are upending that to put women’s voices and choices front and centre, including control of the budget and through NHS Online. Those are the game changers.

The Conservatives do not recognise the total game-changing nature of NHS Online in facilitating services for women wherever they live across the country, whether they live near highly specialised centres, such as those that I am privileged to have in my city of Bristol, in the coastal and rural communities represented by Members from across the House, or near tertiary centres. Any woman, from any part of our country, can access NHS Online and have that specialist service. We are trialling that with gynaecology. They will then get support from our rapidly expanding community diagnostic centres, about whose expansion we made an announcement this week, in order to get quicker diagnosis and the support that they need, closer to home in their neighbourhood health services.

I am happy to respond to the other issues that the hon. Lady raises, including the For Women Scotland judgment, and to set out the work that we have had to do to clear up the mess that the Conservatives left. Everything that happened to women under that system happened on the watch of the Conservative Government, from self ID to the issues at the Tavistock and everything else. There was a lack of rules, a lack of governance and a lack of clarity, and they did not take control. That is the mess that we inherited from the Conservative Government.

The Minister for Women and Equalities, my right hon. Friend the Member for Houghton and Sunderland South (Bridget Phillipson), is doing an excellent job: she is made of steel and good experience, and she has had to navigate a difficult landscape. The Conservatives understand the rules of purdah like the rest of us, so let us not pretend that they do not. My right hon. Friend will be laying that guidance as soon as she can after the election.

I will go on to talk about the DEXA scanners that we are investing in and fracture liaison services bringing people together, which were promises in our manifesto. This strategy is about specialists coming together and working together in fracture liaison services and women’s health hubs. Those have led the way among clinicians about how we can work better for women. That is why we are building on and expanding them, and it is disappointing that the Conservatives do not want to work with us on that.

[Sonia Kumar (Dudley) (Lab)]

I warmly welcome the women’s health strategy. I recently visited the Navigating Our Womanhood Together bus in Dudley, which supports women’s health from menstruation to menopause, and I look forward to more such initiatives being delivered as part of the strategy in my constituency. Will the Minister set out how the strategy will harness allied health professionals, including specialist physiotherapists, to support pelvic health, such as incontinence, prolapse and post-natal care?

[Karin Smyth]

My hon. Friend is a fantastic champion in this area. We are so pleased to have her clinical experience and no day goes past without her representing her own speciality of physiotherapy and AHPs more generally. She is absolutely right that those professionals have led the way in looking at women’s care and it is important that women feel confident with that physiotherapy advice. I think that she will be pleased to see the developments that will come from the women’s health strategy and those that will come when we bring forward our workforce plan, which will have AHPs front and centre working in women’s neighbourhood healthcare.

Oral Answers to Questions

Sonia Kumar Excerpts

Tuesday 13th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting]

The hon. Member is quite right to hold the Government’s feet to the fire on this issue. We are having cross-Government discussions about this issue and other groups of victims of state failure. We will keep him and the House updated.

[Sonia Kumar (Dudley) (Lab)]

A constituent of mine who attends Dudley Voices for Choice has autism with complex mental health needs and is at risk of self-harm. Despite not being able to use a telephone, they are still required by mental health services to do so, and therefore they cannot be treated. They were told that they are non-compliant, so their support was reduced. What steps is my right hon. Friend taking to ensure that mental health services offer alternative ways to communicate for those who cannot use a telephone? I would like to thank Sarah Offley and the team at Dudley Voices for Choice.

[Stephen Kinnock]

We are recruiting 8,500 more mental health workers by the end of this Parliament. The Mental Health Act 2025 reforms will ensure that people with a learning disability, autistic people and people with the most severe mental health conditions have greater choice and control over their treatment and receive the dignity and respect they deserve.

Oral Answers to Questions

Sonia Kumar Excerpts

Tuesday 25th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Dr Ahmed]

Although the Government have no plans to change the departmental responsibilities applicable to unlicensed cannabis-based products, we are cognisant of the need for research in this area. We have agreed to more than £8.5 million in funding for two world-first clinical trials to investigate the safety and efficacy of cannabinoid treatments for drug-resistant epilepsy in both adults and children, and I am happy to speak to the right hon. Gentleman about this matter further.

[Sonia Kumar (Dudley) (Lab)]

I have seen at first hand how severe musculoskeletal conditions such as lower back pain can devastate someone’s ability to work, have relationships and sleep, as well as their overall wellbeing. The education of more than 1 million children is disrupted by MSK conditions due to missed schooling and fragmented, hard-to-navigate services. Will the Minister therefore prioritise MSK conditions in phase 2 of the modern service framework and confirm when that will be published?

[Stephen Kinnock]

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for saving the Ladies Walk health centre in her constituency, which the Conservatives were trying to shut. We are advancing modern service frameworks for conditions where we can swiftly and significantly raise the quality of care. The National Quality Board makes recommendations on future modern service frameworks; its next meeting is on 8 December.

NHS 10-Year Plan

Sonia Kumar Excerpts

Thursday 3rd July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting]

I welcome the hon. Gentleman’s support for the plan. Success has many masters, and I thank him for putting the Carr-Hill formula on the parliamentary agenda through his debate. I can reassure him about a few things. First, what the Chancellor has done in the spending review gives us the advantage of medium-term certainty, so the NHS will now be in the business of medium-term planning with the system, which enables it to make better use of the money that is allocated. Secondly, we are ending Healthwatch—I express my thanks to the people who have worked in Healthwatch for many years—but we are giving power directly to the patients. Alongside that, we are looking at what we can do to strengthen democratic accountability from elected representatives, to ensure that the patient voice and interests are protected.

[Sonia Kumar (Dudley) (Lab)]

As an NHS physiotherapist, I warmly welcome the Secretary of State’s statement and the ambition set out in the 10-year plan. In Dudley, we are already seeing the positive changes of a Labour Government in bringing down waiting lists. With renewed focus on community care, will my right hon. Friend commit to empowering allied health professionals to lead the neighbourhood health centres, building on the successful model that we have seen in Suffolk and North East Essex? Does he agree that we need more healthcare on the high streets?

[Wes Streeting]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right and it is brilliant to have her expertise represented on the Government Benches. She is right about the importance of physiotherapy, not just for improved and better-quality recovery, but for admission avoidance. I want physios and other allied health professionals to be at the heart of the neighbourhood health service, and I know that she will hold us to account to ensure we deliver.

Incontinence

Sonia Kumar Excerpts

Thursday 19th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sonia Kumar (Dudley) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the matter of incontinence.

I thank the Backbench Business Committee and its Chair, the hon. Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman), who helped secure this debate. I am delighted that we are debating this vital but often ignored issue during World Continence Week.

The definition of a taboo is a subject so difficult, repulsive or offensive that it cannot be mentioned in polite conversation and can be articulated only in hushed, embarrassed tones. Once, menstruation was a taboo and we were not supposed to talk about it. Once, cancer was a taboo, and in some communities it still is. Once, mental health was a taboo and people covered it up. We can now discuss those things more openly without embarrassment, we can seek the right medical advice and treatment, and we can offer support to one another and fight for decent healthcare for every aspect of the human body.

How did I get here, in this Chamber, talking about human bodily functions? This has been a journey for me. I spoke in the Westminster Hall debate on women’s health in February. As a physiotherapist, I talked about pelvic health and the importance of rehabilitation and pelvic floor exercises. My words seemed to have struck a chord. Colleagues, residents and professionals all emailed me to thank me for speaking out and to share their experiences. It started to snowball, and I asked myself, “Why aren’t we talking about this more?” I am advised that this is the first ever general debate on this topic in the Chamber, so I congratulate the House.

What are we actually talking about? We are talking about the involuntary loss of faeces and urine, which can be caused by pregnancy, neurological conditions, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord surgery, musculoskeletal conditions, disabilities, menopause, prostrate-related conditions and many more reasons. The crippling fear for patients is that it might happen at work, in public or in social settings. Patients have told me that they feel like a prisoner in their own homes, caught by a condition that means people avoid others, do not go out, cannot go to work, do not have relationships and feel a crushing sense of shame. People’s mental health suffers to the point of serious illness.

Our language reflects society’s attitudes: “wetting your knickers”, “peeing your pants”, or ruder variants that I will not say. Yet we are talking about a range of conditions that affect millions of our residents. Did you know, Madam Deputy Speaker, that bladder and bowel incontinence is more common than hay fever? The NHS estimates that 14 million people live with bladder problems—one in five of the population—and it is men as well as women. The NHS says that 2 million men experience involuntary loss of urine. A third of women live with these conditions right now—that’s right: a third. Yet this is another aspect of health that is woefully unsupported and pushed off the agenda. It affects 1.5 million children and young people. One in 12 children across the UK battle these debilitating symptoms, including bed wetting, chronic constipation and soiling. Half a million adults have bowel conditions that lead to the involuntary loss of faeces.

We have a population that is getting older and surviving complex conditions, such as cancer, and that will increase the prevalence of bladder and bowel dysfunction. When it comes to bowel conditions, we are talking about the involuntary loss of faecal matter, which can be because of irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s disease or other conditions, such as bowel cancer. I have not even touched on what people suffer when they are doubly incontinent. Our NHS collects data on anything and everything. The number of patients with continence care needs to be routinely published, and it is not. My first ask of the Minister —and I have several—is, why not?

The House will note—notwithstanding the title of the debate—that I avoid the terms “incontinence” and “continence”. I have spoken to so many people with bladder and bowel conditions, and my feeling is they are the wrong words to use and they carry too much stigma.

To give justice to the debate, I have conducted roundtables with experts and patients and have shared anonymous surveys. Dawn shared her story with me. She noticed some urinary leakage 10 years ago, when she was 50. Now, at the age of 60, she spoke to me about her journey. She did not go to the GP because she felt ashamed. It got worse and she began to see the gynaecologist. She got the strength to speak to the GP, who gave her tablets. Three rounds of tablets did not work. Her symptoms got worse, and she was unable to leave the House. The gynaecologist referred her to a physiotherapist and specialist nurses. I asked what went wrong here: it was the lack of prevention.

Prevention, prevention, prevention is key. Physiotherapy is recommended as an integral part of women’s health, especially with pelvic floor dysfunction. According to the 2019 NHS long-term plan,

“Physiotherapy is by far the most cost-effective intervention for preventing and treating mild to moderate incontinence and prolapse”.

Insufficient physiotherapist numbers mean that women who experience pelvic floor dysfunction or prolapse wait months or years, or miss out on treatment entirely. Women often end up needing surgery that could have been avoided with earlier intervention. Dawn eventually received specialist care, and her symptoms have vastly improved. She only gets the odd leakage here and there. Her advice to others is

“see your GP… don’t leave it and ask for a referral to see a specialist”.

I had the privilege of seeing one such specialist service in my constituency—Dudley adult bladder and bowel service, known as DABBS—where I met patients and practitioners like Ola Rawlins, team lead and clinical pelvic health physiotherapist, who shared her story, which was eye-opening. Patients told me how GPs ask about bowels but seldom bladders. A patient—Leanne—said she felt ignored, fobbed of and misdirected. One felt like a “prisoner”. Ola’s patients felt like a ball bouncing around different parts of the system. Men, especially those with prostate cancer, were reluctant to take part in self-help groups, and many men did not even know they had a pelvic floor and thought only women did.

Yet symptoms can be easily treated with the right interventions, treatments and course of rehabilitation. Research shows that for every £1 spent on women’s health services, there is a return of £13, thanks to a reduction in emergency admissions, fewer missed days at work and better long-term health outcomes. I know the Department of Health and Social Care is consulting on the men’s health strategy, and I trust that the Minister will ensure that this aspect of men’s health is front and centre.

The DABB service calls itself a “Cinderella service”. The testimonies of patients and professionals is humbling to hear, but it makes me so angry. We are letting too many people down. So what must change? We need to talk about the taboo, and we need action. We need a renaissance of public toilets: to maintain the ones we have, open the ones that are closed and build new ones. I want to see bins in both men’s and women’s toilets, so people can throw these products in the bin. I support the Boys Need Bins campaign by Prostate Cancer UK, and I congratulate the all-party parliamentary group for bladder and bowel continence care for its work. I ask that this place be a pioneer in this space by placing bins in all men’s toilets.

We also need better food labelling, so that fibre is listed on products and people can understand how they can get better bowel health. We need to ensure that the AI and robotics revolution in healthcare does not miss bladder and bowel care. We need a joined-up service between GPs, hospitals, clinics and patient groups. Perhaps we could have more sympathetic and subtle signage in healthcare settings. Products provided outside healthcare settings could have simple labels on shelves, such as “body care” instead of “incontinence products”. That tackles the embarrassment of being seen by a friend or neighbour buying them in the shops.

I urge the Minister, as the 10-year plan nears publication, to ensure that bladder and bowel care is included. Much needs to change, but today I have five concrete asks for the Minister. First, we need a public information campaign to raise awareness and smash the stigma, as recommended by Dr Sara Webb of the Royal College of Midwives. The NHS rightly spends millions on campaigns, such as cancer screenings, the use of 111 and sepsis awareness. Will the Minister commit to a campaign on bladder and bowel care?

[Irene Campbell (North Ayrshire and Arran) (Lab)]

Many years ago, when I worked in the NHS, the board tried to save money by changing the incontinence products that people used. The products were not quite the same, which caused a lot of distress for the people who used them, as well as a lot of inconvenience for the health professionals working with patients, particularly the district nurse team. In the end, it did not really save any money. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is important that people get access to the products that work for them?

[Sonia Kumar]

I agree that products need to be readily available, and that is one of my recommendations.

Secondly, beyond awareness is prevention. We need real understanding, and I want bladder and bowel health to form part of the school syllabus, enmeshed into the curriculum. That is a recommendation from surgeon Dr Robinson from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Let us give teachers the tools to teach it. I want this to form part of the training of all healthcare professionals, so that medical professions understand bladder and bowel care from their earliest time in the job. We need a specialist workforce that includes physiotherapists, nurses, surgeons and many others. Can the Minister commit to placing this issue high on the agenda for schools, and to building a specialist multidisciplinary workforce who have the relevant skills and knowledge?

Thirdly, we need enhanced research and development on bladder and bowel conditions and their treatment. That does not necessarily mean vastly increasing spending; it could mean looking at how resources could be better prioritised. We cannot diagnose, treat and rehabilitate, or look into future medical interventions, if there is limited research.

Fourthly—this recommendation is from Dr Ashish Pradhan, chair of the British Society of Urogynaecology —can the Minister commit to banning misleading advertisements that send the wrong message? Products subject to no regulation are advertised, and patients are told to live with their symptoms.

Fifthly, I have a recommendation from a patient I met, Leanne. Could we have a one-stop shop in which all services are under one roof, care that is closer to home, and cheaper incontinence products? They are exempt from VAT if they are purchased for personal use, or use by a registered charity, but what if they are purchased by care homes?

Those are my five demands, backed by experts—five things that will ensure real progress. I look forward to the Minister’s response. Lastly, let me say this to men, women, young people and children listening to this debate: you are not alone, and there is no shame. This subject is often surrounded by silence. It is a subject that people do not want to talk about, or do not know about, and that the NHS does not do enough about. That ends now, and it ends here.

--- Later in debate ---

[Sonia Kumar]

I thank the Minister for her response, and I hope she takes forward my five recommendations. I also thank all the Members who have contributed to this debate; I hope they continue this conversation in their constituencies.

The hon. Member for Dumfries and Galloway (John Cooper) spoke about men’s health and smashing the stigma. My hon. Friend the Member for Nuneaton (Jodie Gosling) talked about her work on the all-party parliamentary group for bladder and bowel continence care, and she shared information about paediatric care and the lack of provision. The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) raised the issue of the costs to the NHS of neglecting bladder and bowel conditions.

My hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton West (Warinder Juss) talked passionately about the high quality of care needed for patients and about the pelvic mesh scandal; my hon. Friend the Member for Gravesham (Dr Sullivan) spoke powerfully about dealing with bladder and bowel conditions at an early stage, and about prevention; my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Chris Vince) mentioned health inequalities and shared his personal experience; and my hon. Friends the Members for Colchester (Pam Cox) and for Penrith and Solway (Markus Campbell-Savours) discussed the availability of public toilets.

Lastly, I thank everybody again, and I say this once more to those men, women, children and young people who are listening to the debate: you are not alone, and there is absolutely no shame.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House has considered the matter of incontinence.

Spending Review: Health and Social Care

Sonia Kumar Excerpts

Thursday 12th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Karin Smyth]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that this is unacceptable. I was pleased to meet him and his local NHS leaders this week. They made, as hon. Members always do, an excellent case. Clearly, the situation was left badly under his Government. I hope that he will welcome the extra measures in this settlement. I know that my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House told him earlier that she looks forward to him joining us in the Division Lobby to support the extra funding. I hope that hon. Members know that, whatever party they come from, when I meet them, particularly in surgeries, I will follow up on the questions that are asked. They are often matters for the local integrated care board, but we will continue to work with all local systems to deliver the best care possible for all our constituents.

[Sonia Kumar (Dudley) (Lab)]

As an NHS physiotherapist, I welcome the statement. The Government will soon launch their 10-year plan for our NHS, in which a focus will be a move from sickness to prevention. Will the Minister set out how the spending review will support Dudley integrated care board and other ICBs in bringing healthcare on to our high streets, so that patient care is at the heart of our communities?

[Karin Smyth]

I thank my hon. Friend for the excellent role she plays as a clinician. Her expertise is really welcome; we want to hear from a wide variety of experts in this House—that is very valuable. She understands from her professional background, as well as from her constituency, how important it is to look at the entire pathway of care for patients, and to ensure that they have the best possible care as close to home as possible. We think that is better not just for patients, but for clinical outcomes, and it is more efficient and better use of taxpayers’ money. The move from hospitals to communities is front and centre of our 10-year plan, as is delivering neighbourhood health services.

Dementia Care

Sonia Kumar Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sonia Kumar (Dudley) (Lab)]

A constituent has written to me to tell me the story of her mother, who was diagnosed with dementia in 2020. Her father was 86 and the primary carer. They spent over £7,000 on five weeks of respite. Does the hon. Member agree that we need to expand respite centres, day centres and home care to ensure that families are not left by themselves?

[Caroline Voaden]

I could not agree more. If we had little chunks of regular respite care, people would not end up having to pay for several weeks, just to recover from the care that they are providing.

There are some brilliant projects working to support families afflicted by dementia, and several of them have been mentioned already. One of the most inspiring examples that I have seen is the Filo Project, a community interest company that offers dementia support in Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and east Lancashire, and which has recently expanded to Bournemouth. The Filo Project takes its name from the pastry, referring to the many layers that make up a personality—the layers that are cruelly and silently stripped away by dementia. The project provides high-quality, community-based day care for people with early to moderate dementia, and what makes it so powerful is its simple approach: small, weekly group support in the home of a host, where people with dementia spend the day receiving the attention, care and companionship they need. That not only helps them, but provides their families with regular and crucial respite and support. I commend founders Libby Price and Dr Liz Dennis, who I believe is in the Gallery today. It is a model that works, and it has made a tangible difference to many families.

There is a critical need for more community-based initiatives such as the Filo Project, and one of my direct asks of the Minister today is that VAT be removed from such services. Although dementia patients can access goods and services exempt from VAT, they have to pay it on the care provided by the Filo Project and others like it. Families supported by the project have paid more than £700,000 in VAT for care since the group was set up 10 years ago, and the extra cost restricts who can afford to take part, so I urge the Minister to remove this burden. While the Government are facing mounting pressures from all sides to find additional funding, it is worth noting that investing in community-based projects is a fraction of the cost of the NHS, yet the impact is transformational, benefiting families across the country and ultimately saving money.

Chronic Urinary Tract Infections

Sonia Kumar Excerpts

Wednesday 21st May 2025 Westminster Hall

[Luke Taylor (Sutton and Cheam) (LD)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered chronic urinary tract infections.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Desmond. I rise to speak about a horrific condition that has been ignored for much too long. For thousands of Britons chronic urinary tract infections turn ordinary lives into living nightmares. The pain and permanence of the illness has left thousands suffering on a daily basis. Having heard many of their stories it is clear to me that what they are living through is nothing short of torture. This speech is not just about a medical condition; it is about a scandal that highlights the systemic failure to take women’s pain seriously in this country.

Over the last few months a brave community of patients have shared their stories with me—stories of trauma, suffering and desperation. I have been utterly heartbroken by what I have been told. The cruelty of the condition is matched only by the cold indifference that its sufferers have faced from our healthcare system. It is a national disgrace that thousands of chronic UTI sufferers have been so profoundly let down by modern medicine.

[Sonia Kumar (Dudley) (Lab)]

I congratulate the hon. Member on securing this important debate. As a physiotherapist I meet patients with chronic UTIs who tell me about the increasing urgency leading to incontinence. The stigma behind incontinence is disgraceful. Does he agree that we need a wider strategy? When it comes to UTIs we need to look at the other effects, such as people falling and the number of fractures that happen because people are rushing to go to the toilet. It is important to look at a wider strategy instead of just thinking of this as a single issue.

[Luke Taylor]

Absolutely. I thank the hon. Member for raising those related issues, which are so important to consider. I will come on to talk about the wider challenge of women’s health being treated without the importance that it requires. I understand that she is attempting to secure a debate on a similar subject, so I wish her the best of luck in that endeavour.

Many of us have already heard of this illness and have heard people’s stories. I first learned about it from my constituent Phoebe, who has lived with a chronic UTI since she was three years old. Now in her mid-20s, she has become a tireless advocate for others suffering in silence. She shows remarkable perseverance and strength, even when the pain she lives with is beyond anything I can describe. Phoebe is here with us today, along with a number of other sufferers. It is my absolute privilege to stand in this place and speak for them and every other individual enduring such an awful condition. Will the Minister meet me, Phoebe and representatives of other campaign groups to hear how they have been let down by the system?

A chronic UTI is not just a diagnosis; it is at present a life sentence of torture that eats away at every part of a person’s existence. The condition first develops when bacteria from an acute UTI become permanently embedded in the lining of the bladder. Left untreated, the infection becomes entrenched, wreaking long-term havoc on the rest of the body.

I want to be absolutely clear: a chronic UTI should not be confused with the recurrent version of the condition. A patient diagnosed with a recurrent UTI might experience one or two infections over a six-month period. Although it is still serious, patients suffering from a recurrent UTI experience distinct intervals of relief from their symptoms. Chronic UTI sufferers live in constant and excruciating pain, with the infection never relenting. They are in agony every single day and every single night. Many sufferers have lived with the condition for decades, with the illness at present incurable.

Chronic urinary tract infections can affect anyone at any age, but they disproportionately affect women. At the UK’s only NHS specialist clinic, which I will come on to later, 95% of patients are women; only 5% are men. Individuals living with a chronic UTI are often forced to urinate more than 20 times an hour. I have been told that each time they use the toilet, it feels like they are passing razor blades through their urethra. Their urine is bloody. Their bladders are so tender they struggle to walk, and their bodies are consumed by fever. In many cases, the prolonged infection spreads from the bladder to the kidneys and the bloodstream, causing sepsis, with complications for other organs.

I have been told harrowing accounts of the agony caused by this illness. The pain has been likened to corrosive acid burning through the abdomen, glass shards lodged in the bladder and the feeling of mice eating away at the sufferer’s insides. Some liken it to scorching knives slashing forever at their stomach, or a hot cauldron constantly bubbling in their groin. The most common comparison I hear is that people’s bodies are perpetually on fire. To reiterate, the torment never stops—for the majority of patients, it is 24/7.

These symptoms destroy lives overnight. The illness renders individuals severely disabled, often forced to live a life of bedbound isolation. The pain is so overwhelming that patients can lose their ability to sleep and become trapped in a cycle of exhaustion. Household chores become impossible, and individuals can lose the ability to care for their children. Sufferers often lose their dream careers, as they cannot function with their symptoms in the workplace. They are unable to work or afford costly bills for private medicine.

Young adults living with the condition often have to forgo university studies, with the severity of their agony making their education unbearable. Romantic relationships break down, with at least one case of a marriage of over 40 years ending due to the illness. Sexual intercourse is virtually impossible due to the immense pain. Many people with the condition fear they will never be able to start a family. Patients face an utter loss of independence and, unsurprisingly, depression and suicidal ideation are daily struggles for the chronic UTI patient community.

This brings me on to my second ask for the Minister: every healthcare professional in the UK must be properly briefed to recognise and treat a chronic UTI. Since 2022, the NHS website has formally recognised the existence of chronic UTIs, yet I have heard that many GPs and urologists still deny the existence of the illness. Patients suffering from chronic UTIs are left to fight for recognition and are misdiagnosed with conditions such as internal cystitis or recurrent UTIs.