Projects & Initiatives

The Gut Trust works for people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome in many ways: by providing advice and support through our helpline, the Self Management Programme, our factsheets and journals; by attending conferences and exhibitions to engage with nurses, GPs and Gastroneterologists; by appearing in print, on television and on radio; and in working behind the scenes to help improve the lives of people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome in the long term.

Here's some of the things we're doing. It is not a complete list - confidentiality and medical ethics requirements sometimes mean we cannot announce something until a certain stage in the process; and many projects are very long term.

Guidelines for adults with IBS in Primary Care

We are a stakeholder in the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence's work drawing up the first guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome in primary care settings (i.e. at the GP's surgery). The guidelines are at consultation stage and can be found at:

http://www.nice.org.uk/page.aspx?o=291060

Improving Management in Gastroenterology

This is a patient-focussed project, funded by the Health Foundation and led by Professor Roger Jones of King's College London, involving the main gut charities (Coeliac UK, CORE, The Gut Trust and the National Association for Crohn's and Colitis). The British Society for Gastroenterology and the Primary Care Society for Gastroenterology provide clinical participation. The project is now running - focus groups for IBS will take place in London and Durham. The IMAGE project web page is at:

http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/medicine/gppc/image

Can't Wait, Won't Wait

Improving public toilet provision. The subject of this year's Symposium, Can't Wait, Won't Wait reflects the importance in the lives of people with IBS of access to public toilets. We're working with other groups in the field, including the British Toilet Association, and others, to bring this subject again to the fore, not only with central government, but also - and critically importantly, since it is an unfunded local government responsibility - with local councils and councillors. There's more at:

http://www.theguttrust.co.uk/toiletprovision.asp