Skip to main content
PMC home page
Gut logoLink to Gut
. 1992 Feb;33(2):282–285. doi: 10.1136/gut.33.2.282

Open access endoscopy--a nationwide survey of current practice.

M G Bramble 1
PMCID: PMC1373946  PMID: 1541426

Abstract

In a postal survey of 450 members of the Endoscopy Section of the British Society of Gastroenterology carried out during 1990, 47% of respondants stated that they were offering some form of open access endoscopy. Virtually all of these were offering open access gastroscopy, but one in three were also performing open access flexible sigmoidoscopy. Those units that offered open access endoscopy had significantly more endoscopists sharing the workload, including a greater number of clinical assistants. Only 10% of those who replied, however, were offering 'true' open access endoscopy, the remainder used some form of 'censoring'. There were also important differences in consultants' attitudes to the investigation and management of patients referred with dyspepsia, which may account for the patchy availability of the service. Some 71% of those who did not offer open access endoscopy cited an inability to cope with numbers as their main reason for not doing so. Support for these concerns is gained from the finding that 52% of those that offered the service have had a waiting list exceeding six weeks at some time. Nevertheless, open access endoscopy is becoming more widely available with a large increase in participating units during the past 12 months.

Full text

PDF
282

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Fisher J. A., Surridge J. G., Vartan C. P., Loehry C. A. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy--a GP service. Br Med J. 1977 Nov 5;2(6096):1199–1201. doi: 10.1136/bmj.2.6096.1199. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Gear M. W., Wilkinson S. P. Open-access upper alimentary endoscopy. Br J Hosp Med. 1989 May;41(5):438, 440, 442-4. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Holdstock G., Wiseman M., Loehry C. A. Open-access endoscopy service for general practitioners. Br Med J. 1979 Feb 17;1(6161):457–459. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.6161.457. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Hungin A. S. Use of an open-access gastroscopy service by a general practice: findings and subsequent specialist referral rate. J R Coll Gen Pract. 1987 Apr;37(297):170–171. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Kalra L., Price W. R., Jones B. J., Hamlyn A. N. Open access fibresigmoidoscopy: a comparative audit of efficacy. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1988 Apr 16;296(6629):1095–1096. doi: 10.1136/bmj.296.6629.1095. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Kerrigan D. D., Brown S. R., Hutchinson G. H. Open access gastroscopy: too much to swallow? BMJ. 1990 Feb 10;300(6721):374–376. doi: 10.1136/bmj.300.6721.374. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Tate J. J., Royle G. T. Open access colonoscopy for suspected colonic neoplasia. Gut. 1988 Oct;29(10):1322–1325. doi: 10.1136/gut.29.10.1322. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Vellacott K. D., Roe A. M., Mortensen N. J. An evaluation of a direct access flexible fibreoptic sigmoidoscopy service. Ann R Coll Surg Engl. 1987 Jul;69(4):149–152. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Gut are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES