Gastrointestinal and liver - NHS North Yorkshire CCG

Gastrointestinal and liver: for healthcare professionals

North Yorkshire commissioning information

Scarborough Ryedale and York information

Harrogate and Rural District Information

Gastrointestinal and liver A - Z

Faecal calprotectin information

Faecal calprotectin testing is recommended by NICE as an option to help doctors distinguish between inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, and non-inflammatory bowel diseases, such as irritable bowel syndrome. More information for GPs can be found in this leaflet.

Information for GPs on the Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) can be found in this document and also in this presentation. An update on the roll out of the FIT test can be found here. A useful 'Dos and Dont's' guide has been produced for GPs and that is available here.

Post menopausal bleeding

There can be several causes of postmenopausal bleeding. The most common causes are:

inflammation and thinning of the vaginal lining (atrophic vaginitis) or womb lining (endometrial atrophy) – caused by lower oestrogen levels
cervical or womb polyps – growths that are usually non-cancerous
a thickened womb lining (endometrial hyperplasia) – this can be caused by hormone replacement therapy (HRT), high levels of oestrogen or being overweight, and can lead to womb cancer

You can read more on the NHS website. Referral information for GPs is here.

Patient information

Gastroenterology is the study of the normal function and diseases of the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon and rectum, pancreas, gallbladder, bile ducts and liver.

It involves a detailed understanding of the normal action (physiology) of the gastrointestinal organs including the movement of material through the stomach and intestine (motility), the digestion and absorption of nutrients into the body, removal of waste from the system, and the function of the liver as a digestive organ.

It includes common and important conditions such as colon polyps and cancer, hepatitis, gastroesophageal reflux (heartburn), peptic ulcer disease, colitis, gallbladder and biliary tract disease, nutritional problems, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), and pancreatitis.

In essence, all normal activity and disease of the digestive organs are part of the study of Gastroenterology.