Four million people in the UK would not see a GP even if passing blood

Burcu Borysik

Head of Policy & Campaigns, Crohn’s and Colitis UK

A poll has revealed that 7.5 million people in the UK would be too embarrassed to talk to GPs about symptoms of serious bowel disorders.

Generation Z (18 to 24-year-olds) would delay seeing a GP the longest; with one in five (19%) saying they’d take more than a month to see a doctor even when passing blood — more than twice the UK population average (8%).

Bowel health symptom checker

The charity Crohn’s & Colitis UK revealed that they had been contacted by young people who had been living off gummy bears, bran flakes and jelly because their digestive issues had made eating so painful. 

In response, the charity is launching a campaign called ‘Cut The Crap: Get Checked For Crohn’s and Colitis’ to raise awareness that the main symptoms — diarrhoea, blood in the faeces and stomach pain — mean you need to get checked. 

It signposts people to a new online symptom checker, developed with doctors. It takes 30 seconds to fill out, and then you can find out if you need to see a GP. It produces a list of your symptoms and can send you a letter for your GP to make talking about them easier.

Delays can be devastating — affecting people’s ability to do their jobs, go to school or college, socialise or have relationships.

Do not delay seeking help

The charity commissioned a national poll of 10,000 people to find out why one in four people (25%) took more than a year to be diagnosed, as revealed in earlier research.

Delaying treatment can leave people needing stronger medication or even emergency surgery to remove part of their bowel. GP Dr Marion Sloan, Chair of the Primary Care Society of Gastroenterology says: “As doctors, we see and examine patients with bowel symptoms on a regular basis, and we appreciate the symptoms can be difficult to talk about. But the more you tell us, the more accurate our diagnosis can be, and the quicker you can get the treatments you need.” 

Crohn’s & Colitis UK CEO Sarah Sleet says: “Delays can be devastating — affecting people’s ability to do their jobs, go to school or college, socialise or have relationships. It is urgent that we do more to help young people stay in control of their health, and that means providing them with the tools to get the right diagnosis from their GP as early as possible.”