Endoscopy compliance: HTM2030vs CFPP01-06

Endoscopy is one of a number of disciplines in healthcare which has a reputation for being notoriously difficult to achieve compliance. The disinfection process is difficult enough in a hospital, let alone within a temporary endoscopy unit, which has the capability to move across the UK for months at a time. It is in this context that it is imperative that the guidelines for safe and effective endoscope decontamination are adhered to, not only to meet the requirements for patient safety and hygiene. In addition, this essential protocol provides hospitals with a record that they have consistently passed the water testing process, thereby allowing continuous provision of endoscopy services. After discussions with an authorised engineer in decontamination and United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) accredited micro-laboratories, Vanguard Healthcare decided to put HTM 2030 and CFPP 01-06 to the test as part of an evaluation programme to identify the gold standard in compliance. Comparison of the two standards will enable Vanguard Healthcare to continue to deliver optimum care for patients.

Endoscopy services

With its bowel cancer screening programme now rolled out across the UK, the National Health Service (NHS) has been particularly pro-active in matters surrounding this form of cancer; with increased levels of endoscopy services, compliance has never been more important and is an essential part of best practice, particularly following the consistent rise in demand as patient referrals and numbers increase. As a result, there has been a 50% increase in demand for GI (gastro-intestinal) endoscopies over the past four years and this will be boosted by a further 75% increase over the next four years, according to The Joint Advisory Group (JAG) on GI Endoscopy. Annually 500,000 endoscopies are carried out in the UK. These extra patient numbers arise from additional screening and symptomatic work, and puts considerable pressure on endoscopy teams. Vanguard Healthcare has supported the NHS and other healthcare providers, including private hospitals, for the past decade by supplying a 40-strong fleet of ‘pop-up’ surgical and endoscopy facilities. These state-of-the-art units are deployed during periods of refurbishment or to provide additional capacity in order to meet high demands for surgery and endoscopy. Vanguard is at the forefront of temporary surgical solutions – having, to date, overseen more than 166,000 patient procedures on board its fleet. Endoscopy services are a key provision and have proved so popular that they are, in effect, in continuous use; a big focus currently for Vanguard is the national roll out of its new communitybased diagnostics service, which launched from the famous Cheltenham Racecourse. An innovative template for the rest of the UK, it’s a partnership arrangement with Prime Diagnostics to deliver county wide NHS endoscopy services outside a traditional hospital setting that is closer to the community and to meet the growing demand for appointments, enabling more patients to be seen. The mobile endoscopy service is currently exclusively NHS focused, but has an obvious opportunity to also provide the service to the private sector. Vanguard has three temporary endoscopy units – each are 18m in length and 10m wide – which are deployed across the UK to healthcare sites for 4-12 months at a time, particularly to assist with JAG accreditation. Each of the unique mobile suites are suitable for a range of investigative procedures, which can be used to maintain services during refurbishment and upgrade programmes, capacity issues or screening programmes for bowel cancers. The units are also fully-equipped for gastroscopy, colonoscopy and sigmoidoscopy procedures, equipped with either Olympus or Fujifilm endoscopes and can be deployed with a team of clinical staff trained in endoscopy. In order to provide endoscopy professionals with the best technology and decontamination services – which include reverse osmosis water systems compliant with HTM 2030 – Vanguard has partnered with some of the leaders in their respective fields, such as Imotech Medical, who exclusively distribute worldclass Fujifilm endoscopy equipment to the NHS and private healthcare sectors; Lancer, who provides Vanguard with the pass through washer re-processors in all three mobile endoscopy units and commissions the equipment each time a unit arrives at a new location; and Triple Red, who supplies Vanguard with the reverse osmosis (RO) water treatment needed for the washer processing systems inside the mobile endoscopy units.