One in ten people who visited the British Liver Trust’s Love Your Liver roadshow in Stoke last week were found to have potential liver damage that required further investigation. Over two days, the roadshow visited Hanley and Stafford, with record-breaking daily numbers of people attending to find out if they were at risk of liver disease.
In Hanley on June 15th, 202 members of the public received a liver scan, of which 9% were given letters to take to their GP for further investigation, while in Stafford on June 14th 11% of the 172 people scanned received letters.
The roadshows, which received double the expected visitors, were generously funded by Dr Alison Brind, a committed and much-loved hepatologist who worked at University Hospitals North Midlands (UHNM), before she sadly passed away earlier this year.
Dr Brind dedicated her life to raising awareness of liver disease and supporting liver patients in and around Stoke. After funding last year’s Stoke roadshow, she was so delighted with its success in raising awareness and identifying those at risk that she decided to fund it for another five years.
Pamela Healy OBE, the British Liver Trust’s Chief Executive said: “Dr Brind said, ‘Liver disease and my care for liver disease patients is something I want to be remembered for,’ and she wanted everyone to know how severe liver disease can be. Her support of our Love Your Liver Roadshows demonstrated her passion and devotion to that cause and we continue to be grateful and humbled by her generosity. The hundreds of people who attended our Stafford and Hanley roadshows, double what we were expecting, have all benefited from her legacy and we look forward to bringing our mobile unit back to Stoke-on-Trent next year.”
The British Liver Trust’s Love Your Liver unit tours the country, inviting people to benefit from a free non-invasive scan, take an online screener which reveals their risk of liver disease and learn what preventative measures they can take to keep their liver healthy.
Liver disease develops silently with no signs or symptoms, so people often don’t realise they have a problem until it is too late. Nine in 10 cases of liver disease are preventable with the main causes being alcohol, obesity and viral hepatitis. In Staffordshire alone 1515 people were admitted to hospital in 2022/2023 due to liver disease (i).
However, if liver disease is found early, damage can be stopped and even be reversed.
The British Liver Trust’s Love Your Liver campaign focuses on three simple steps to Love Your Liver back to health:
- Drink within recommended limits and have three consecutive days off alcohol every week
- Cut down on sugar, carbohydrates and fat, and take more exercise
- Know the risk factors for viral hepatitis and get tested or vaccinated if at risk
Check your liver health online and find out if you are at risk by completing the British Liver Trust’s online screening test
(i) https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/liver-disease/data#page/1/gid/8000063/pat/6/ati/502/are/E10000028/iid/90892/age/1/sex/1/cat/-1/ctp/-1/yrr/1/cid/4/tbm/1
