Minister apologises for parliamentary question error

David Barker, Chief Executive of Crohn’s & Colitis UK, has received a letter from Jane Ellison MP, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health, apologising for an error in a response to a recent Parliamentary Question which confused Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).

David wrote to the Department of Health to raise the charities strong concerns and objections that the Department of Health had failed to distinguish the difference between IBD and IBS in this very public way. Such a confusion could only exacerbate the wider problem that already exists with people receiving a correct and quick diagnosis. Some GPs diagnose a patient with potential IBD as having IBS and therefore do not refer them promptly enough to a specialist in secondary care where they can be accurately diagnosed as having IBD and be appropriately treated.

The Public Health Minister apologised for the “regrettable oversight” and wanted to extend her apologies to supporters and those living with IBD for the Department’s mistake. The Minister stressed that the inaccuracy was not representative of any existing misconception that the Department of Health had, and put the error down to a drafting error which should have been picked up.

In closing, the Minister praised Crohn’s and Colitis UK for the work that the charity continues to do to in raising awareness and providing support to those people living with IBD.