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Rebecca Nunn1, Shirish Tewari1,
Santhini Jeyarajah1, Vivek Gupta1, James Evans2,
Nick Reay-Jones1, Nasser Khan2
1Department
of General Surgery, Lister Hospital, East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust,
Coreys Mill Lane, Stevenage, UK, SG1 4AB
2Department
of Gastroenterology, Lister Hospital, East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust,
UK
*Corresponding
author: Shirish Tewari, Department of General Surgery,
Lister Hospital, East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, Coreys Mill Lane,
Stevenage, UK, SG1 4AB, Email: shirish.tewari@nhs.net
Citation: Shirish
Tewari (2020) COVID-19 and its Impact on GI Endoscopy Units: Perspective from a
UK District General Hospital. World J Gastroenterol Hepatol Endosc, 3(3); 1-4
Copyright: ©
2020, Shirish Tewari, et al. This is an open-access article
distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are
credited
ABSTRACT
Objective
The impacts of COVID-19 have been
far-reaching on a global scale, particularly within the healthcare sector. Here
we focus on how reaction to the threat of COVID-19 has affected GI
(Gastrointestinal) endoscopy services within our local Trust and anticipate the
challenges in re-establishing this service as the UK eases lockdown
restrictions.
Design
GI endoscopy data for the East and North
Hertfordshire NHS Trust (January- July 2020) was obtained from the Trust’s
database: the number and type of procedure, inpatient or day case, and
location. Local policy documentation, as well as published literature, was
consulted regarding recent changes to practice and strategies moving forward.
Results
In April 2020, the number of GI endoscopy
procedures carried out locally was 115. This is <10%of the Trust’s usual
monthly figures. Reasons for such a fall in numbers include: cancellation of
routine procedures, resource availability (staff, equipment, facilities) and
additional time per procedure. The significant reduction in activity during the
‘peak phase’ of COVID-19 mirrors national patterns and has seen a substantial
rise in waiting list numbers. Use of alternative facilities is one strategy
being employed locally to increase service capacity: 48% of procedures performed
in Maywere outsourced to the independent sector.
Conclusion
The potential risk of harm through delayed
diagnosis/ intervention as a result of prolonged waits for endoscopic
procedures remains a feasible threat, particularly when faced with the
uncertain future disease trajectory of COVID-19. Units therefore need to
balance strategies to minimise COVID-19 transmission with those targeting the
waiting list backlog.
KEYWORDS: COVID-19, GI endoscopy, Healthcare, Transmission
DOI:
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