Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the savings accrued to the public purse by North Lincolnshire Care Commissioning Group as a result of the implementation of Yorkshire and Humber AHSN’s improved faecal calprotectin pathway for diagnosis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease; and if he will make a statement.

No estimate has been made. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends faecal calprotectin testing as an option to help doctors distinguish between inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, and non-IBDs, such as irritable bowel syndrome.

The NICE IBD Quality Standard states that general practitioners (GP) and GP practices should ensure that testing is offered and clinical commissioning groups should ensure the diagnostic services are in place to support this.

NHS England has produced a consensus guidance document that supports implementation of the NICE guidance. Both the guidance and statement can be found at the following link:

www.nice.org.uk/guidance/dg11/resources/endorsed-resource-the-use-of-faecal-calprotectin-in-primary-care-as-a-decision-diagnostic-for-inflammatory-bowel-disease-and-irritable-bowel-syndrome-4595859613