Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he has taken to reduce misdiagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome and bowel cancer.

Irritable bowel syndrome in adults: Diagnosis and management of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in primary care, published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in 2008, sets out best practice on the diagnosis treatment and support of patients with IBS. IBS can cause similar symptoms to bowel cancer, and the guidance makes clear the importance of assessing the patient for certain ‘red flag’ symptoms which could indicate bowel cancer, such as unexplained weight loss, rectal bleeding or a change in bowel habit to looser and/or more frequent stools. Patients with any of these symptoms should be referred to secondary care for investigation.

Similarly, the NICE guidance, Referral Guidelines for suspected cancer, published in 2005, also highlights the ‘red flag’ symptoms for bowel cancer and recommends appropriate referral for patients presenting with such symptoms.

Together, the NICE guidelines support clinicians to manage patients with either IBS or suspected cancer appropriately. Both the IBS and referral guidance are in the process of being updated, with revised publications expected for issue in March and May 2015 respectively.