New website to improve gut diagnosis

How you can help

You can find out more about this new website below, but after you do, we’d like your help to spread the word. Please feel free to shout about it on social media or tell anyone you think it could help, whether that’s your GP, other healthcare professionals, someone with undiagnosed gut problems or a person supporting others to get a diagnosis.

To find out more, visit:

www.whatsupwithmygut.org.uk

How does this website help?

The What’s Up With My Gut website makes the pathway to diagnosis clearer. Every day, people throughout the UK visit their GP to find out why they have gut problems. Whether it’s Coeliac Disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Crohn’s disease, Colitis or another condition, getting a diagnosis can be complicated and overwhelming.

This website:

• Provides support to GPs and other healthcare professionals with the decisions they make
• Makes the process of diagnosis easier to understand and less overwhelming for those with symptoms

Helping people with gut problems

For parents and people trying to get a diagnosis, the website provides step-by-step guides to support and empower them to understand the actions their GP will take. This includes:

• When to see a GP
• How to get the best out of GP appointments
• Which conditions the GP may look into
• The tests and investigations your GP may consider
• What to do once you have your results

Informing and guiding GPs

For healthcare professionals, the website provides clear pathways to help patients get a diagnosis. It has been endorsed by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP). Following these guidelines can help to shorten the time to diagnosis, reduce variation among healthcare professionals and improve patient's experiences of care. These pathways include information on:

• Considerations to make when taking a history
• Conditions to think about
• Investigations to consider
• When to make a referral to a specialist
• Red flags for cancer

A collaborative partnership

The What’s Up With My Gut website has been created by Crohn’s & Colitis UK in partnership with other gut-related charities, people diagnosed with gut problems and healthcare professional organisations. These include:

• The British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG)
• The British Society of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (BSPGHAN)
• The Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland (ACPGBI),
• Coeliac UK
• Crohn’s in Childhood Research Association (CICRA)
• Guts UK
• The IBS Network

Thank you also to those who took part in the consultation for this project. Your contributions were invaluable and much appreciated.