A TEST that can distinguish between inflammatory and non-inflammatory bowel diseases will be made available to Jersey GPs before the end of the year – over a decade after it was approved for use in UK surgeries.
National guidelines recommends using faecal calprotectin testing to help differentiate between inflammatory bowel disease like Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis, and non-inflammatory bowel diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome.
This approach helps to avoid unnecessary endoscopic investigations in patients with irritable bowel syndrome by ruling out inflammatory bowel disease, improving cost-effectiveness and patient care.
But faecal calprotectin testing is not currently available in GP surgeries in Jersey, and patients with symptoms suggestive of inflammatory bowel disease have to be referred to the hospital.
According to the response to a freedom-of-information request, there are plans to make this test available to GPs in Jersey before the end of 2025.
Faecal calprotectin testing has been available for GPs in the UK since at least 2013, when the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence approved it in diagnostics guidance.
