Trust endoscopy teams celebrate official JAG accreditation
Posted: 20 February 2024
Members of the Endoscopy team
The Royal College of Physicians and its official body the Joint Advisory Group (JAG), has re-awarded JAG accreditation to the endoscopy units at West Herts Teaching Hospital NHS Trust.
The service has maintained successful accreditation since October 2007, with re-assessment required every 5 years. The units at Watford General and Hemel Hempstead Hospitals, successfully maintained this status following immense effort and cross site teamwork by all endoscopy and administrative staff.
By participating in the JAG programme the West Herts Endoscopy Service (including the Bowel Cancer Screening service) ensures that patients receive first class care. JAG accreditation also allows the units to continue operating as training centres, both for our own trainees but also for endoscopists and endoscopy nurses from across the country.
Members of the Endoscopy team
JAG accreditation verifies that rigorous, high-quality standards, used across the UK and Republic of Ireland, are met to support delivery and improvement of endoscopy services. These standards were developed by a multi-professional group of clinicians, managers, and service users. The accreditation programme is run by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) and is dedicated to improving care quality standards.
Official JAG assessors said it was a pleasure to visit both sites: “The teams provided high-quality evidence and were welcoming and open at every stage of our assessment. The units are well led with excellent triumvirate leadership and a cohesive team. Clinical, clerical and decontamination staff were seen to work in unison, with the patient as their focus of attention.
“We also saw notable practice in terms of clinical governance, list utilisation and IT innovation. The teams have worked hard to regain timely delivery of procedures.” This refers to the recovery of waiting times following the backlog created by the COVID pandemic.
Members of the Endoscopy team
Additional areas of excellence commented on by the assessors included well-structured and attended governance meetings; gender segregated accommodation despite challenging building designs; a locally developed IT system (Casper), working effectively for complex patients, and streamlined admin and clerical processes, helping to improve waiting times and patient experience.
Every colleague across the West Herts endoscopy department is committed to providing high quality, patient-centred care; with the high standards demanded by JAG embedded in everyday practice. The Endoscopy team are keen to thank divisional and trust management, as well as the estates and finance teams, as without their commitment and support, re-accreditation of the service would not have been possible.
Achieving JAG re-accreditation was the result of collaborative working, and is a true reflection of #teamwestherts.
Ends
- For more information, please contact the communications team on: 01923 436280 or email: westherts.communications@nhs.net. Out of hours, please call the Watford General Hospital switchboard on 01923 244366 and ask for the on call communications manager.
- West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves people from across Hertfordshire, north London and further afield. It operates from three hospitals; Watford General, St Albans City and Hemel Hempstead. The trust has a catchment area of over 600,000 people and is one of the largest employers locally, with around 5,800 staff and volunteers.
- For more information about our hospitals, visit www.westhertshospitals.nhs.uk. You can also join us on Facebook, X (Twitter), YouTube and LinkedIn @WestHertsNHS
