Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report entitled Crohn’s and Colitis Care in the UK published by IBD UK on 27 April 2021, what steps the Government is taking to help ensure that there is more timely diagnosis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

NHS England and NHS Improvement are working closely with front-line clinical experts, patient representative groups and leading charities, including Crohn’s and Colitis UK, to develop evidence-based improvement tools to help improve inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) care, including diagnosis times. This work includes a new IBD RightCare scenario, which will set out high-quality joined-up care at every point of the patient journey.

In addition, NHS England and NHS Improvement have provided IBD data packs for local commissioners. These data packs present data from different parts of the care pathway to help local systems identify the factors driving unwarranted variations in treatment, as well as narrative on how outcomes can be optimised.