With someone in the UK being diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease or Ulcerative Colitis every 30 minutes, local MSP Jackie Baillie and Crohn’s and Colitis UK are using World IBD Day on Tuesday 19th May to raise awareness of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, and enable more local patients to access the best care available.

There are at least 300,000 people in the UK living with Crohn’s or Colitis, the two main forms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). These chronic conditions can cause ulceration and inflammation in the colon (Ulcerative Colitis) or any part of the digestive system (Crohn’s Disease). Symptoms can include diarrhoea (often with blood), severe pain, extreme fatigue, and dramatic weight loss. This means 1 in 210 people are living with these unpredictable, life-long and potentially life-threatening conditions.

On World IBD Day, Crohn’s and Colitis UK are launching ‘My Crohn’s & Colitis Care’, a patient guide to the top 10 essentials of a good IBD service. This practical resource has been developed with the support of patients, healthcare professionals and health organisations, and is the patient companion to The IBD Standards¹. The aim of the new guide is to empower people with IBD to get the best from their local health service by working in partnership with their healthcare team.

Pledging her support, Jackie Baillie MSP said:

“Raising awareness of Inflammatory Bowel Disease is incredibly important. These are often conditions that people are embarrassed to talk about yet they can be very debilitating and have an enormous effect on someone’s life. Crohn’s and Colitis UK offer great support to those that suffer with these diseases and the launch of the ‘My Crohn’s and Colitis Care’ will prove to be invaluable in supporting patients to work in partnership with their healthcare services in order to get the best quality care.

“I am taking part in World IBD Day by wearing purple to show support to constituents in my area who have IBD and I am very pleased to be raising awareness of these conditions.”

David Barker, Chief Executive at Crohn’s and Colitis UK said;

“The impact of these conditions on education, work, social and family life can be devastating. We want to raise as much awareness as possible for everyone who suffers from these ‘invisible’ conditions, and provide people with a practical resource.

“World IBD Day is a chance to stand up, take action, raise awareness and support the 300,000 people in the UK – and millions more worldwide – living with Crohn’s Disease or Ulcerative Colitis. Wear purple on Tuesday 19 May and join us to make Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis VISIBLE.²”

‘My Crohn’s and Colitis Care’³ is available to download from www.crohnsandcolitis.org.uk/myca