Stroud Hospital has been recognised for meeting best practice quality standards for endoscopy with renewal of its national accreditation. It is one of a handful of community hospitals in the country to be accredited by the Joint Advisory Group on Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (JAG), which assessed the endoscopy unit on May 1st 2020. Amjad Uppal, Medical Director, said: “This is deserved recognition for the continued great work of the team at Stroud, who have maintained accreditation since it was awarded in 2016”. 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. Severine Ryder, Theatre, Endoscopy and Day Surgery Manager at Stroud Hospital, said: “JAG accreditation is an important platform for our work – for example, it is a requirement for participation in the bowel cancer screening programme. “As a team we are proud of the service we’re able to deliver for patients, and pleased that our expertise and high standards are reflected in our accreditation”.
The League of Friends has given £204,000 since 2016 to the endoscopy unit and has purchased various items such as ultrasound probes, stack system, colonoscopes and endoscopic video unit which have contributed to the JAG accreditation.