A discussion of the British Society of Gastroenterology survey of emergency gastroenterology workload.
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.
Gyawali
P
P
King George Hospital NHS Trust, Ilford.
Suri
D
D
Barrison
I
I
Smithson
J
J
Thompson
N
N
Denyer
M E
ME
Hughes
S
S
Gilmore
I
I
D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D016099:Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004739:England; D005762:Gastroenterology / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006471:Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital / Q000592:standards; D011361:Professional Competence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012955:Societies, Medical; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016526:Workload