Gastroenterology Today Autumn 2020

NEWS
our NHS is under such pressure, failing to
establish these pathways would seem poor
practice. Modern healthcare is not simply
about treating the escalating rise in chronic
conditions, but also taking pre-emptive action
to create more ‘well societies’. Effective bowel
management is just one of the initiatives
that help foster healthier populations that
consume less healthcare.”
The Bowel Interest Group is an independent
multidisciplinary organisation dedicated to
improving bowel care for patients.
You can download the full report free of
charge by visiting:
https://bowelinterestgroup.co.uk/
resources/cost-of-constipationreport-2020/
New information pack
supports GPs in best practice
treatment of constipation
(Letchworth, February 2020) Independent
clinical and patient organisation, The Bowel
Interest Group (BIG), has published a new
information pack for General Practices on
managing acute constipation through key
therapeutic stages, ensuring that patients
are not left for long periods with treatments
that are not working.
Constipation (and its frequent companion
symptom – faecal incontinence) ruins lives.
Yet the condition is still under-managed in
the National Health Service, despite some
fundamentally important foundation work 1 .
In particular, survey work with GPs,
conducted by BIG in 2019, has revealed
that supporting materials for healthcare
professionals at the primary level on
constipation management are scant, and
are one of the key resources sought by
GPs. Most of these patients are treated
empirically with laxatives, with little subtlety
of which agent suits the individual patient’s
symptoms. Respondents to the survey said
they would welcome useful resources on
the issue. This new document is one step in
redressing that balance.
Poor bowel health and chronic constipation
is debilitating for hundreds and thousands of
people in the UK. In 2017/18, it cost the NHS
£162 million in constipation treatment, of
which £71 million was caused by unplanned,
avoidable emergency admissions, and
£91 million by spending on prescription
laxatives i .
The newly published information pack
- Dealing with Acute Constipation,
Information for General Practitioners -
summarises key research on constipation
and treatment options and combines them
into a simple diagram to help provide a
best practice pathway for general practice
in its recognition, treatment and point of
escalation of the available therapies for
acute constipation.
Professor Anton Emmanuel, Consultant
Gastroenterologist at UCLH and the National
Hospital for Neurology & Neurosurgery,
lead the compilation of the new information
pack. He notes, “Many Trusts have now
created, or are developing, dedicated bowel
management pathways based on NICE
guidance, and are already experiencing the
resulting improved patient outcomes. BIG
have created a management pathway based
on the NICE Clinical Knowledge Summary.
This document is aimed at all clinicians,
specialist care professionals, general
practitioners and commissioners to help
understand the rationale and positioning
of this therapy that can have a profoundly
positive effect on people’s health, quality of
life, dignity and requirement for healthcare.”
i
Bowel Independence Group, The Cost of
Constipation Report 2019
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GASTROENTEROLOGY TODAY - AUTUMN 2020
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