Weekend clinics open with aim of cutting endoscopy waiting lists in Guernsey

Weekend clinics are starting in Guernsey to address gastroenterology waiting times.

The waiting list for endoscopies has been increasing month on month, recently reaching three times the pre-pandemic figure.

As of April, the inpatient waiting list for gastroenterology patients was 536, compared to a waiting list of fewer than 150 patients prior to Covid.

Now weekend clinics will be on offer from Thursdays to Sundays, which Guernsey's Health Committee says will result in around 50 patients per week being seen. They are in the process of contacting eligible patients.

UK company Medinet will travel to Guernsey to help deliver the clinics.

Dr Rabey, Guernsey's Medical Director, says: "Medinet has excellent post-operative outcomes and patients being referred to these weekend clinics will receive the same high standard of care had they continued to wait until they could be seen by an on-island consultant."

Dr Jean Challiner, Medinet medical director, added: "We have provided experienced teams of consultants and nurses to carry out endoscopy procedures in hospitals across the UK for 17 years and are looking forward to working with the Guernsey team to provide a high-quality patient-focused service."

Endoscopies and colonoscopies inspect the stomach and bowel to help diagnose disorders including inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn's disease and bowel cancer.

Guernsey's Health Committee says their bowel cancer screening programme will restart once the waiting list for gastroenterology procedures has been reduced.

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