Last week MPs from across the UK took part in the first-ever parliamentary debate on “health inequalities in liver disease and liver cancer” at Westminster.
The debate spotlighted alarming new data from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities that shows liver disease deaths and hospital admissions have risen to their highest level in a generation.
The British Liver Trust organised the debate the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Liver Disease and Liver Cancer which it manages. The policy team at the Trust mobilised support from MPs and provided individual briefings to all of the MPs who agreed to speak.
Vanessa Hebditch, Policy and Communications Director at the British Liver Trust, said:
“This important debate highlighted that liver disease is a barometer for health inequalities. Avoidable deaths and hospital admissions for liver disease are highest in our most disadvantaged communities, with the North of England disproportionately impacted. Bolder action on prevention and earlier detection of liver disease is imperative to unlock a healthier future for children and young people most at risk.”
MPs spoke powerfully on the impact of geographic inequalities in liver disease with the North of England accounting for over 1 in 3 premature deaths from liver disease in 2022.
The lead sponsor for the debate, Navendu Mishra MP (Labour, Stockport) highlighted that mortality rates for liver disease have climbed to up to five times higher in the most deprived areas – where individuals are more likely to develop, be hospitalised by, and die from liver disease – than the most affluent.
“90% of liver disease is preventable and, if diagnosed early, damage can often be reversed… Tragically, however, premature deaths from liver disease have surged to their highest levels in decades, and hospital admissions due to liver disease have risen by almost 80% over the past decade alone, driven by obesity, alcohol and viral hepatitis.”
A number of MPs spoke out about the postcode lottery for earlier diagnosis with new research by the British Liver Trust revealing that fewer than 1 in 5 Integrated Care Systems in England currently have fully effective pathways in place for the early detection and management of liver disease.
Representing the North East, Sharon Hodgson MP (Labour, Washington and Sunderland West) added: “We see the hand of inequality stretch even further… In Sunderland, hospital admission rates due to liver disease were, shockingly, 84% higher than the national average in 2022-23… despite the Government’s manifesto pledge and levelling-up mission to narrow the gap in healthy life expectancy.”
Parliamentarians emphasised that not enough action is being taken to protect vulnerable children and young people most at risk of developing liver disease. While 90% of liver disease is preventable, avoidable pressures facing our NHS and economy are projected to rise sharply.
Harmful and hazardous drinking is on the rise with an 87% increase in alcohol related liver disease deaths between 2001-2021. Childhood obesity is also increasing at the fastest pace on record with 4 in 10 children with obesity now estimated to have fatty liver disease. Shockingly, hospital admissions due to non-alcohol related fatty liver disease increased by 47% since the pandemic in 2020/21.
Highlighting the devastating impact of stigma on hampering earlier diagnosis of liver disease and liver cancer, co-lead for the debate, Alison Thewliss MP (SNP, Glasgow Central) said: “Almost three quarters of people with a liver condition have experienced stigma, and almost a third feel that it has prevented them from receiving medical care.”
Adding that the Scottish Government’s upstream focus on prevention and earlier detection has helped to gradually turn the tide on avoidable deaths and hospital admissions in Scotland: “Minimum unit pricing… has reduced the consumption of alcohol in Scotland by 3%, reducing deaths wholly attributable to alcohol by 13.4% and hospital admissions due to chronic conditions such as alcohol-related liver disease by 4.1%.”
Cross-party MPs backed calls from the British Liver Trust for urgent action on prevention and earlier diagnosis, noting that liver disease is a silent killer with three quarters of patients with cirrhosis diagnosed at crisis point in hospital when it’s too late for effective treatment.
Shadow Minister for Public Health and Primary Care and Public Health, Preet-Kaur Gill MP outlined Labour’s ambitions to curb inequalities in liver disease and liver cancer, saying: “To build an NHS fit for the future, Labour is committed to hitting all NHS cancer waiting time and early diagnostic targets within five years. We will drive a prevention revolution, with measures to tackle alcohol harms and the obesity epidemic”.
Concluding the debate, Public Health Minister, Andrea Leadsom MP said: “We know what causes liver disease, and we know that diagnosing it more quickly will save thousands of lives. That is why prevention and diagnosis are the twin pillars of our strategy to end inequalities in liver disease and liver cancer across our country.”
