Liver disease toolkit
The aims of the BLT/RCGP Liver Priority Project are to raise awareness of liver disease as an increasingly important cause of morbidity and mortality in the UK and to provide resources to support its optimal management in primary care.
Recommendations for commissioning bodies to improve the early detection of chronic liver disease in UK primary care
Mortality from liver disease is increasing in the UK. It is a leading cause of death in working age, yet 90% is preventable. Three quarters of people are currently diagnosed at a late stage when it is often too late for effective interventions or treatment. The same level of attention that has previously been given to the prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancer now needs to be directed at the other major causes of years of life lost (YLLs), such as liver disease.
The Royal College of General Practitioners and British Liver Trust have worked with stakeholders to create recommendations and a set of resources to support primary care commissioning bodies in the UK to plan and commission effective liver services for adults, adapted to local needs and circumstances. These recommendations have been developed from the latest NICE and British Society of Gastroenterology guidelines.
The resources are divided into the following sections:
1. The rationale for change, the burden of chronic liver disease and finding out your local population needs
2. Review the data, assess your local population needs and scope what needs to be done in your area
3. Develop an agreed local pathway for assessing the risk of liver disease, finding patients at risk, testing, following up and referring to secondary care
4. Exemplar pathways to adapt for your local needs
5. Links to NICE and British Society of Gastroenterology guidelines and other resources
These recommendations were developed by a stakeholder group led by the Royal College of General Practitioners and the British Liver Trust liver disease priority programme. Stakeholders invited included GPs, commissioners, public health professionals, hepatologists, third sector representatives and representatives from the devolved nations. These recommendations have been reviewed and endorsed by the Lancet Liver commission, British Association for the Study of the Liver (BASL) and the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG).