Crohn’s and Colitis Care in the UK: The Hidden Cost and a Vision for Change

Working with 17 organisations as part of  IBD UK, our 2021 report looked at the experiences of over 10,000 people with Crohn’s and Colitis and 72% of IBD services across the UK. 

It revealed that care urgently needed to be improved. In particular: 

• Adults and children were waiting too long for a diagnosis of Crohn’s or Colitis 
• The wider symptoms of Crohn’s and Colitis, such as pain, fatigue and emotional wellbeing were often not addressed 
• People were not getting specialist advice and treatment quickly enough 
• There were not enough specialists, including IBD nurse specialists, dietitians and psychologists and care was often not joined up 

A new round of IBD UK benchmarking will be taking place in the spring of 2023 to see what has and hasn't changed over the last four years.

Get involved to help us improve care and make Crohn’s and Colitis visible.

• Join our Campaigns Network - together our voices can bring about change Share your story so we can put your experiences at the heart of our work.
• Read your local service report and ask your IBD team what they are doing with the findings.
• Ask your IBD team about ways to get involved in improving your care – you might find our toolkit helpful with this.
• Fundraise to support our work to improve services and care.