Guts UK Charity at the BSG 2018 Conference

Last week Guts UK spent 4 days in a gloriously sunny Liverpool attending the yearly conference of the British Society of Gastroenterology. BSG’s conferences are always vibrant and exciting but this one was particularly so because Guts UK was launching its new name and brand at the event. We asked the doctors to give us feedback so we can get everything ready for a public launch over the next few months. And we are pleased to report that the feedback was very positive! People liked the new colours and logo, the new website, and the updated health information around digestive conditions. The new Guts UK t-shirts and cycle and running tops were a fantastic success.

We even had a babygrow with the new Guts UK logo, which we gave to Dr Phil Smith, one of our Trustees, whose wife just had a lovely baby.

One of the highlights of the conference for Guts UK was getting some of the doctors to wear our new running tops to go for a 10K run along Liverpool’s beautiful waterfront.

We are sure the new colours gave them wings to run faster (‘Run for the runs!’ I hear some of you say?!). The support of the doctors associated with the British Society of Gastroenterology is extremely important for the work that Guts UK Charity is doing, and their encouragement is always warmly welcomed!

The conference was also a great opportunity to launch our new grants for doctors who want to do research. Guts UK have over £1M earmarked for research this year, across a range of digestive diseases. These funding opportunities are open to both young doctors still in training and to senior consultants with a track record in research. This approach ensures we can support both the current and the future research leaders in the area of digestive diseases. Supporting research in this area is essential to make progress with new treatments and tests that can help people affected by digestive diseases.

The BSG conference is vast and covers all digestive conditions, from the gullet to the large bowel, including diseases affecting the liver, pancreas and gallbladder. It was heartening to see many of the doctors we have supported in the past presenting their research at the conference. Guts UK also had its own special session, with speakers discussing how Guts UK funding had helped their research and allowed them to take their work forward. As a small charity, we are proud that our supporters’ donations are improving our understanding and management of these digestive diseases.

And it is not only doctors: the BSG conference also attracts nurses and dietitians who work on digestive diseases. Guts UK is keen to work even more closely with them and plans to develop the information on diet that is available on our website for some of these conditions. Whether it is the role of fibre in diverticular disease or information on the low FODMAP diet for IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), we understand that diet is an important concern for many people diagnosed with digestive disease, and therefore we want to develop information resources in this area.