PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
NATIONAL GUT WEEK (13 July 2005)

That this House welcomes Gut Week 2005 on 18th to 24th July, with the theme `get the good gut feeling'; recognises the efforts to raise the nation's awareness of digestive health and provide people with an opportunity to discuss gut issues; notes the effort to increase early detection of gut disorders to give the best opportunity for treatment; further welcomes the message that good health begins on the inside by looking after the digestive system, eating a healthy diet and not ignoring symptoms; expresses concern that new research reveals that a majority of the population consider important digestive symptoms are not sufficiently serious to consult a doctor, only a quarter think they would know how to self-diagnose a serious gut disorder, one in eight of all admissions to general hospitals are for conditions of the digestive tract and that over a third of the population regularly suffers from digestive illness; and congratulates the charities Care and the IBS Network for their efforts to raise the profile of digestive health.

Sponsored by:
Dr Andrew Murrison (Conservative)