Tynemouth MP Alan Campbell has been supporting Crohn’s and Colitis Awareness Week 2021 (1st to 7th December).

1 in 133 children and adults are living with Crohn’s and Colitis in Tynemouth Constituency. They are painful, debilitating and widely misunderstood conditions. There is no known cure. They can affect almost every part of the body and every aspect of life: from digestion and joints to energy levels, mental health, and the ability to work.

General public awareness of Crohn’s and Colitis (also known as Inflammatory Bowel Disease -IBD) is low. You can’t see that a person is ill by just looking at them. Many children and adults find it hard to talk about their Crohn’s and Colitis, mental health or living with a stoma. Almost half said they felt that governments don’t understand their needs while more than three quarters said the same about the general public.

Alan Campbell said “I am calling on our local NHS Trust to maintain and improve IBD services and ensure that people with Crohn’s and Colitis needing treatment and surgery aren’t forgotten.”