The publication of the iron deficiency guidelines in 2005¹ and the adoption of iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) as a 2-week referral criterion by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence lower gastrointestinal (GI) cancer guidelines² should have focused attention on this historically poorly managed condition. There is evidence from the primary care literature of poor adherence to previous IDA guidelines.³ In order to evaulate adherence to the new IDA guidelines in our trust, we undertook a short prospective audit of all patients admitted in 1 month through …