EAST Lancashire patients are calling for more specialist nurses for people with serious bowel disorders.

More than 100 people from across the North West took part in a public meeting at Sparth House, Clayton-le-Moors, to mark a year since the formation of the East Lancashire branch of the National Association for Colitis and Crohn’s Disease (NACC).

And chairman Eila Richardson said they all agreed that there were not enough nurses to go round.

Inflammatory bowel diseases like colitis and Crohn’s affect one in every 400 people in the UK. Both cause severe diarrhoea, weight loss and joint swelling.

Colitis causes hundreds of tiny ulcers inside the bowel, while Crohn’s disease causes very deep ulcers and severe scarring. Both conditions can lead to life-threatening damage to the large intestine wall.

Mrs Richardson, of St Paul’s Street, Clitheroe, said extra nurses were needed to help sufferers cope with the conditions during their day-to-day lives, as well as to spot complications which could need attention from hospital consultants.

She said: “We had a lot of people at the meeting, mostly from East Lancashire, but some from as far away as Liverpool, which just shows how little there is for a lot of people suffering from these diseases.

“We had an IBD nurse there from Blackburn with Darwen who explained that while she did all she could, she was only available for 15 hours a week.

“These nurses are needed to keep up the regular tests and checks to ensure people don’t need further medical treatment or surgery.”

The NACC’s national charity has been campaigning since 2005 for more IBD nurses, with latest surveys showing just 26 per cent of its members had regular access to a specialist.