Letter in Belfast Telegraph

 

The following letter appeared in the Belfast Telegraph

Coeliac sufferers in need of understanding

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

As a coeliac, I read with more than passing interest Dr Dunn's statement that coeliacs are entitled to free prescriptions and free food (Belfast Telegraph, July 6).
While as the Coeliac Society UK noted that he was wrong on both counts, what is more worrying is that he is the chairman of the BMA GP committee.
What chance do people have of 1, being diagnosed, and 2, getting the help they need if the top GP is so ill informed!
How much does he know about this unbelievably difficult disease and its consequences and the lifelong adherence to a diet which is practically non existent in the outside world?
I expect he knows all about vegetarians (which is a lifestyle choice!), as it seems does every manufacturer, but let him try a gluten free diet (coeliac is a disease) for a week and see how he fares.
Maybe then coeliacs will get the help they need and deserve.
Appalled Coeliac