The new Government must prioritise improving prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment of liver disease and liver cancer to tackle the significant increase in hospitalisations and deaths in recent years.
We write this following yesterday’s general election, when the Labour party made historic gains across the country, securing a majority Government this morning – a landslide victory for the party.
We are now urging the new Government to stand by its manifesto commitment to build an NHS fit for the future. The Labour Party founded the National Health Service on the 5th of July 1948, exactly 76 years ago today[1]. However, the service faces significant challenges. To deliver on their commitment, we will campaign to ensure all people with liver conditions have equal access to services and care at the point of need, and that they are treated with dignity and fairness.
As a patient advocacy charity, we will continue to work with politicians from all political parties and campaign for equal access to treatment and care for liver patients. Our collaboration with MPs across all parties, including the Labour front bench health team when in opposition, has been productive, and we look forward to strengthening existing relationships while building engagement with new MPs.
Beyond government engagement, we will also partner with healthcare professionals, researchers, and community organisations to advance our mission. Our goal is for liver patients to receive better, more timely, and compassionate care. We will advocate for improvements in early diagnosis of liver disease and push for preventative measures that address social and commercial determinants of health. Additionally, we will focus on enhancing care for children with liver diseases following our merger with Children’s Liver Disease Foundation.
Liver cancer and liver disease caused over 18,000 deaths in 2022, and deaths increased by 400% in two generations. Since COVID, there was a 21% uptick in liver disease deaths across the UK[2] and a 54% increase in the number of patients waiting for a liver transplant. We want to improve these statistics and reduce the impact liver conditions have on individuals, their families, and friends.
We have an ambitious plan for the new parliament which includes sharing a post-election report with all 650 MPs, a parliamentary champion programme, the re-launch of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Liver Disease and Liver Cancer, holding a debate on liver cancer in October, the launch of our Hepatitis B policy report in Parliament, and the publication and promotion of our re-survey of early detection pathways.
[1] The founding of the NHS: 75 years on – History of government (blog.gov.uk)
[2] Liver disease in numbers – key facts and statistics – British Liver Trust
