The Endoscopy team at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust (MTW) has passed its Royal College of Physicians Joint Advisory Group on Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (JAG) review and been awarded national accreditation for its services.

The Endoscopy team at Maidstone Hospital (main image: Endoscopy at Tunbridge Wells Hospital)

Endoscopy services are run at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells hospitals seven days a week, with a team of staff including clinical specialists, doctors and nurses who specialise in gastroenterology, surgery and nurse-led endoscopy, as well as administrative staff. Last year the service performed more than 15,000 procedures.

JAG accreditation is awarded to high-quality services and promotes improvement by highlighting areas of best practice, areas for change and encouraging continued development of the clinical service.

The Trust’s Endoscopy department has been continuously JAG-accredited for the last 10 years, showing the commitment and professionalism of the service, and the high standard of care.

The scheme is regarded as one of the most innovative and effective in the healthcare sector and has been used as a model for other schemes in the UK and overseas.

It has four assessment areas: clinical quality, patient experience, workforce and training. Accredited services must submit evidence each year to demonstrate they are continuing to meet the standards, and there is an on-site assessment every five years.

In the latest review, the Trust’s Endoscopy service was commended for the quality of its leadership, exceptional nurse training and development, and “continued efforts to support neighbouring sites and reduce their endoscopy waiting times”.

The accreditation team also recognised “a clear commitment to learning from patient and staff feedback to improve the service” and said their “commitment to a patient-led service should be congratulated”.