Crohn’s & Colitis UK expand their patient information programme with donation from Simplyhealth
Andover, Hampshire: Simplyhealth, the UK’s leading health and dental plan provider, is today supporting World IBD day and has announced its donation to the leading charity for Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis, Crohn’s & Colitis UK. The donation will expand the charity’s patient information programme, reaching communities where health literacy is low and information provision is limited, ultimately, supporting the urgent needs of patients living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) to have better health outcomes and make informed decisions about their care and treatment.
Over half a million people in the UK live with IBD, the two main forms of which are Crohn's Disease and Colitis. These are lifelong diseases of the gut, and are painful, debilitating and widely misunderstood. IBD can affect almost every part of the body and every aspect of life: from digestion and joints to energy levels and mental health.
Throughout the pandemic, my condition went from mild to severe and I spent several weeks in hospital over the course of the year. I lost 30kg in weight, was going to the toilet 30 times a day and I was suffering with fatigue, sickness, urgency, and a huge lack of confidence. I had always been fit and healthy, but I felt weak and vulnerable.
My IBD Team introduced me to the Crohn’s & Colitis UK website when I was first admitted to hospital. The information pages were all printed out and I admit it took a few attempts just for the information to sink in, with it all being new and somewhat scary. But the simplicity of the language used by the information pages made it easy for me to build a greater understanding of what Colitis is and to manage my condition.
I was able to share these pages with my family, to allow them to learn and understand too. I can honestly say the Crohn’s & Colitis UK team and the website support network gave me hope that I didn’t have when I was newly diagnosed.
Funding from our Corporate Partners is incredibly valuable and enables us to develop our services across the charity. Simplyhealth recently supported our work with an amazing donation of £30,000 towards our patient information programme. We are delighted to have their support for this essential part of our work. Together we can achieve common goals to improve lives for so many people affected by Crohn’s and Colitis and help them lead their best life.
We are proud to support Crohn’s & Colitis UK’s vision that people living with Crohn’s and Colitis, throughout their lives deserve the best possible care and support to live fuller, freer lives. This aligns with Simplyhealth’s purpose to improve access to healthcare for people in the UK and help more people make the most of life through better everyday health. Equipped with the right information and support, hundreds more patients suffering from inflammatory bowel disease will be able to manage their condition and symptoms better and live well.
For further information about Crohn’s & Colitis or how you can show your support for #WorldIBDDay visit Crohn's & Colitis UK (crohnsandcolitis.org.uk).