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Hepatology group urges UK’s health service to combat rise in liver disease
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Members of the All-Party Parliamentary Hepatology Group have asked the National Health Service in the United Kingdom to show more concern about the rise of liver disease.
A report released by the All-Party Parliamentary Hepatology Group (APPHG) details concerns of clinicians and patients that the government’s lack of concern about liver disease is resulting in increased mortality.
“Liver disease is a problem that will not go away, that in fact will continue to escalate until it is taken as seriously as heart disease or cancer by NHS England,” Martin Lombard,MD, MSc, FRCP, former national clinical director for liver disease, said in the report.
According to the report, liver disease is the fifth greatest cause of death in the UK and the only one of the five major killers that is rising. The three main causes of liver disease — alcohol misuse, obesity and viral hepatitis — are preventable, and stakeholders want to see greater effort made by the government to prevent, diagnose and treat patients with liver disease.
The APPHG urges the NHS to improve public education through better disease monitoring, prevention efforts, early diagnosis methods, and greater service provision and patient care.