Gastroenterology

Around 69% of the population experience persistent gut and digestive medical conditions, which requires NHS gastroenterology teams to treat millions of patients every year.

Gastrointestinal (GI) issues account for one in ten GP consultations, while digestive diseases such as liver disease are a factor in one in eight deaths in the UK. Liver disease rates are increasing and expected to become the biggest cause of premature death in the next few years.

Gastroenterology has expanded at a greater rate than any other acute major medical specialty over the past 30 years due to demands for diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy procedures.

The key recommendations of the GIRFT report focus on introducing more six and seven-day endoscopy services, working more closely with primary care networks and increasing proactive care programmes for patients with chronic conditions.

Dr Beverly Oates

Gastroenterology clinical lead

Consultant Physician and Gastroenterologist, and clinical service lead for gastroenterology and endoscopy at the Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Dr Oates qualified from Birmingham University in 1993 and undertook her Specialist Registrar training in Mersey region, including completing a Doctorate of Medicine at Liverpool University. She has been the training programme director for gastroenterology in Mersey since 2007, and national recruitment lead for Gastroenterology since 2009.

She is the treasurer of the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) and former Chair of the BSG training committee, as well as a member of the Gastroenterology Special Advisory Committee, BSG executive committee and BSG council, and the Joint Advisory Group (JAG) for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.

In November 2015, Dr Oates was named HSJ Clinical Leader of the Year. This very prestigious individual award was in recognition of her national, regional and local leadership achievements. In the same year she was named Employee of the Year by her own trust, an organisation with 5,500 staff.

In 2025, she was awarded the BSG’s President’s Medal for her exceptional contribution to medicine and to the NHS as a whole.

Dr Paul Richardson

Gastroenterology clinical advisor (hepatology)

Consultant hepatologist at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital part of NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group (UHLG).

Dr Richardson is a consultant hepatologist at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital part of NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group (UHLG). He is also Honorary Associate Professor of Hepatology at the University of Liverpool.

Dr Richardson trained in hepatology at the liver unit in Kings College Hospital, London and was appointed consultant hepatologist at the Royal Liverpool in 2009 where he was clinical director for eight years.

He was a GIRFT regional ambassador for Cheshire and Merseyside and a member of the British Society of Gastroenterology liver committee. He currently leads the regional hepatitis C network and chairs the Cheshire and Merseyside regional liver network.

Dr Ayesha Akbar

Gastroenterology clinical advisor

Consultant gastroenterologist at St Mark's Hospital, London North West University Healthcare Trust

Dr Akbar is currently Deputy Chief Medical Officer, and Responsible Officer, for London North West University Healthcare Trust which encompasses St Mark’s, Northwick Park, Ealing and Central Middlesex Hospitals.

She was appointed as a consultant at St Mark’s Hospital, the National Bowel Hospital, in 2010. Her clinical interests cover general gastroenterology with a focus in inflammatory bowel disease and functional bowel disorders.

She has held several key leadership positions including Associate Medical Director, Divisional Clinical Director and Research & Development Director. Her portfolio incorporates patient safety, outcomes, managing performance and governance amongst others.

She is actively involved in education and quality improvement. She has held various roles in the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) including Education Chair which also led to her being a member of the BSG Executive, chair of Neurogastroenterology and Motility (NGM) section and BSG media representative.

GIRFT gastroenterology report recommends more weekend services and early specialist triage to help manage demand and improve productivity

The GIRFT specialty report outlines a range of measures to help gastroenterology services enhance clinical outcomes and increase surgical outputs.

Key recommendations aim to ensure the right patients are prioritised and then cared for quickly, efficiently, and safely including better triage to help streamline referrals.

More proactive care programmes for patients – such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) – will help enable earlier diagnosis and management of flare-ups, reduce emergency admissions and the need for surgery.