Benenden Hospital is proud to announce that it has once again been awarded JAG accreditation by The Royal College of Physicians for providing high quality care to gastroenterology patients
What is JAG accreditation
The accreditation assures patients that units meet a stringent set of standards in their clinical practice and measure up to exacting national professional standards in safety, staffing, governance, policies and environment.
The endoscopy department at the CQC-rated Outstanding private hospital received the prestigious award following a rigorous on-site assessment by the Joint Advisory Group (JAG), an independent regulatory body which assesses all endoscopy suites at hospitals. Accreditation assessments take place every five years, with annual reviews to ensure standards are maintained.
The assessment highlighted excellent achievement in the following areas:
- Excellent and supportive nursing leadership structure
- Positive feedback obtained from patient interviews. Patients spoke of the friendliness, professionalism and compassion of staff
- The facilities, great patient pathway and excellent environment, with attention to detail along the route
- High level of engagement with the service and for overseeing the safety, quality and effectiveness of endoscopy provided
- In-depth ownership of patients from their outpatient clinic through patient choice for booking their endoscopy appointments
Claire Harley, Director of Patient Services, said: "This reaccreditation is a reflection of the fantastic teamwork of our endoscopy department and their dedication to delivering outstanding patient care.
"They have worked incredibly hard to achieve this accolade and it provides a real note of assurance to patients that our unit meets the high standards expected by JAG."
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 reported by gastroenterology patients. 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 08 February 2024