Carlisle MP, John Stevenson has recently given his commitment to support the British Liver Trust’s campaign to Make The Early Diagnosis of Liver Disease Routine.

Speaking on the subject, John Stevenson said: “The early detection of liver disease is vitally important and the statistics are stark and available for all to see.

“We must do all we can to turn the tide on this liver disease crisis, and I have written to the Chair of the NHS North East and North Cumbria ICB to ask that urgent attention is given to the creation of a medical pathway for early detection, and proactive work is undertaken with those likely to be most at risk.”

He has also written to the NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board to ask for a commissioned primary care pathway for the early detection of liver disease to be put in place.

According to statistics from the British Liver Trust, 90 percent of liver disease is reversible if caught at an early stage.

However the alarming reality is that three quarters of people in the UK are diagnosed with cirrhosis in an emergency setting, when it is too late for effective intervention or treatment, and one in four people diagnosed in hospital, sadly die within a couple of months.

Alcohol related liver deaths have increased by around 20 percent during the Covid pandemic.

Population weight gain over a number of decades, exacerbated by lockdown, is leading to an increase in non-alcohol related fatty liver disease, driving overall increases in liver disease and adding further urgency to the situation.