The work of the endoscopy unit at Benenden Hospital has once again been recognised by the Royal College of Physicians.
What is the Joint Advisory Group (JAG) accreditation?
The accreditation is awarded to endoscopy units that are able to meet a stringent set of standards relating to high quality patient care demonstrating a safe, patient-centred and efficient service.
Director of Patient Services Claire Harley said: “To receive accreditation for a second time for our endoscopy services shows the quality, safety and outstanding service that we provide our patients on a daily basis. We are the only private hospital in Kent to receive JAG accreditation so this is a something that the Endoscopy Unit team should be extremely proud of.’
“Our endoscopy unit was built with JAG standards in mind and our dedicated endoscopy services ensures that patient privacy and dignity is protected at all stages of the patient journey. There are also separate recovery rooms for both men and women which ensures their privacy is respected.
“I would like to say a huge well done to our Endoscopy unit for the continued care and support that they provide to our patients.”
The JAG accreditation assures patients that the units are committed to high quality standards in their clinical practice and measure up to exacting national professional standards in safety, staffing, governance, policies and environment.
Watch Senior Endoscopy Nurse, Holly Wilde, talk about our recent JAG reaccreditation.
JAG assessment standards
Leadership and organisation
Endoscopy unit shall have a defined leadership management and accountability structure to achieve an effective patient-centred service
Safety
The endoscopy service shall have processes in place to identify, respond to and learn from expected and unexpected adverse events
Comfort
The endoscopy service shall ensure that it implements and monitors systems to achieve the comfort and respect of patients at all stages of their care
Quality
The endoscopy service shall ensure that it implements and monitors systems for the clinical quality of all procedures
Appropriateness
The endoscopy service shall ensure that it implements and monitors systems for all referrals and procedures to be appropriate and safe
Results
The endoscopy service shall implement and monitor systems to ensure the clinical and technical quality of the interpretation of test results, and their reporting and communication
What is an endoscopy?
Endoscopy is a procedure that allows a doctor to view the inside of a person's body and was originally used only in the esophagus, stomach, and colon.
An endoscope is a long, thin, flexible tube that has a light and camera at one end. Images of the inside of your body are shown on a television screen. The endoscope can be put into your body through your mouth and down your throat or through the bottom. It can also be put inside the body through a small cut made in the skin when keyhole surgery is being done.
Why might I need an endoscopy?
An endoscopy can be used to investigate different symptoms. These can include:
- Difficulty swallowing (dysphagia)
- Tummy pain that does not go away or keeps coming back
- Having diarrhoea, or feeling or being sick often
- Losing weight without trying (unintentional weight loss)
- Having heartburn or indigestion often
- Blood in your poo
What types of endoscopy are offered at Benenden Hospital?
We offer a range of fast access self-pay endoscopy procedures, diagnosis and treatments run by a team of expert Consultants.
A colonoscopy can check what’s causing your bowel symptoms by looking at the lining of your rectum and colon using a long, flexible tube called a colonoscope.
A procedure to look inside the lower part of the large intestine using a sigmoidoscope, a long, thin flexible tube with a light and camera at the end.
Used when your food pipe (oesophagus), stomach or top part of the small intestine need to be looked at. This involves putting the endoscope camera down the throat.
To find out more about self-pay endoscopy procedures, contact our Private Patients team on 01580 363158 or complete our online enquiry form.
Published on 22 February 2022