A discussion of the British Society of Gastroenterology survey of emergency gastroenterology workload

P. Gyawali, D. Suri, I. Barrison, J. Smithson, N. Thompson, M. E. Denyer, S. Hughes, I. Gilmore

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Scopus citations

Abstract

An electronic survey of 188 acute NHS hospitals was carried out to assess the provision of out-of-hours services for gastrointestinal emergencies in England. The response rate was 167/188 (89%) for the main questionnaire and 157/188 (84%) for a supplementary questionnaire. The survey revealed that the majority of gastroenterologists (135/157, 86%) participate in acute general medicine. A rota for out-of-hours endoscopy was in place in only 82/167 (49%) of hospitals. Trained nurse endoscopy assistance was available in 51/82 (62%) of those hospitals with a formal rota. Two thirds of gastroenterologists were telephoned up to five times each month for advice when not on call; 64% felt their emergency endoscopy service provision was unsatisfactory and 38% thought it was unsafe. This paper concludes that there is serious under provision of services for patients presenting with gastrointestinal emergencies in England.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)585-588
Number of pages4
JournalClinical Medicine, Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of London
Volume7
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2007

Keywords

  • British Society of Gastroenterology guidelines
  • Emergency endoscopy
  • Gastrointestinal bleeding
  • General internal medicine
  • Out-of-hours endoscopy rota

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