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The endoscopy department at Peterborough City Hospital has been praised for its excellent patient care after being put under the spotlight by experts in its field.

The department – which has performed 12,600 endoscopy procedures in the last 12 months – has retained its Joint Advisory Group (JAG) accreditation; a benchmark for excellence. 

The accreditation is based on patient experience, training, team culture and clinical development; with standards set by the Royal College of Physicians. 

Over 100 pieces of evidence, staff interviews, hours of collating materials, acting on feedback and implementing an action plan has resulted in the department retaining the accreditation following eight months of scrutiny by the Joint Advisory Group.

 

JAG visits take place every five years, and during that time, the department has worked through a number of challenges – not least the Covid-19 pandemic – while implementing and adhering to new national standards. 

Unit manager Sophie Mitchell said: “ We are absolutely delighted to retain our JAG accreditation, which has taken months of dedication, commitment and collaborative effort by the entire team across all areas.

“ I am so proud to lead and be part of a team which has helped to drive and push us through to being recognised as a centre of excellence, delivering excellent care and a best quality service for our patients. This puts us at the top of our game.”

The 75-strong department currently runs five procedure rooms, which are in use both mornings and afternoons, six days a week. 

In more good news, it has also seen a huge reduction in the number of patients waiting as long as six weeks for an endoscopy procedure at Peterborough City Hospital and Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Huntingdon.

It is the first specialty in the Trust to meet the internal standards (in line with national guidelines) where 95 per cent of patients receive their treatment inside six weeks from referral. 

Jemma Sturgeon, Service Manager for Endoscopy Services at North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust confirmed that as of March 2025 – approximately 150 patients were waiting for an endoscopy procedure to be booked either at Peterborough City Hospital or Hinchingbrooke Hospital, Huntingdon.

She added: “When I joined the Department in 2019, that figure was in the region of 4,000 to 5,000. 

“We have worked tremendously hard in some challenging times to dramatically reduce this figure- the result of a fantastic team effort.”