On 22 March 2023, Majid Hashemi and Alan Moss attended a meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Health called to discuss Government Action on Major Conditions and Diseases, drawing attention to the importance of swallowing and digestive conditions that can be chronic, life limiting illnesses that severely affect quality of life.
The major conditions initiative will inevitably concentrate on cancers, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory illnesses, dementia, mental health and musculoskeletal disorders but issues such as prompt diagnosis and effective treatment pathways are relevant to many other conditions such as achalasia.
The Government’s Rare Diseases Action Plan is concerned with diseases that occur less frequently than 1 in 2,000, a criterion that achalasia meets by occurring in approximately 1 in 10,000. The issues of early diagnosis, effective treatment and better research are also vital topics of concern.
