Stroud and Cirencester Hospitals have been rated amongst the best for endoscopy after receiving prestigious national accreditation.
They are two of only 12 community hospitals in the country to be accredited by the Joint Advisory Group on Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (JAG), which assessed the endoscopy units at both hospitals on May 10 and 11.
Candace Plouffe, chief operating officer at Gloucestershire Care Services which runs both hospitals, said: “This is a fantastic achievement for the Trust, and great recognition for the work of the teams in both Stroud and Cirencester.
“These units require a great deal of expertise to operate and have benefitted a great deal from our partnership work with Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust and fantastic support from the League of Friends.”
JAG was established in 1994 to set standards for endoscopists and provide quality assurance for hospital units. It uses a series of ratings to assess how well a hospital is providing a high quality, patient-centred service.
Feedback from assessors about the units at Stroud and Cirencester included praise for leadership and teamwork, high quality equipment with great investment from the League of Friends, and excellent patient feedback.
Helen Acock, senior sister for Endoscopy at Stroud Hospital, said: “This accreditation gives us a great platform to build on for expanding the services we offer patients – for example, it is a requirement for participation in the bowel cancer screening programme.
“As a team we are very proud, especially because we have succeeded at the first attempt which is quite unusual.”
Photo shows the Endoscopy Team at Stroud General Hospital celebrating their successful accreditation