Trust trialling pioneering new procedure to improve patient experience
Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich is one of the first hospitals in London to trial a new way of detecting the causes of indigestion and symptoms such as difficulty in swallowing. The new procedure, “transnasal endoscopy”, is more comfortable for patients and avoids common side effects normally associated with standard endoscopy procedures.
Transnasal endoscopy uses an ultra-thin flexible camera called an endoscope which is passed through the nose, rather than the mouth, to look inside the gullet and stomach and to take biopsies. The procedure is much more comfortable for patients than traditional endoscopy (through the mouth).
The clinic at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Greenwich sees six to eight patients per sessions with four sessions a week, Monday to Thursday. The new type of endoscopy is being trialled this month at the hospital. The procedure is performed by a consultant or nurse endoscopist with the help of a nurse and healthcare assistant.
Dr Alistair McNair, Consultant and Clinical Director for Gastroenterology said: “We are one of the first centres in London to trial this pioneering procedure, it is a new technology, cost effective and improves patient care. It avoids the common side effects of conventional endoscopy (through the mouth) such as gagging, retching and nausea because the transnasal approach minimises contact with the tongue. Therefore no sedation is needed.”
The advantages of transnasal endoscopy are:
-You will not need sedation required so do not need to be accompanied for the test
-The procedure is more comfortable with little or no gagging
-You will be able to talk normally during the test
-It does causes very little physical distress with almost no effect on pulse and blood pressure
-You can drive home and you may eat, drink, return to work afterwards