Study: Endoscopy Clinics Run by Nurses Safe and Effective

An endoscopy clinic for the screening of colorectal cancer that is run by a nurse is safe, effective and less costly, according to researchers at the Department of Surgery at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Llantrisant, Wales.

Nurse-led clinics take advantage of the recent acceptance of the nurse-practitioner by the U.K.'s National Health Service and may allow the use of nurse-endoscopists to develop throughout that country , wrote the researchers in their study published in Surgical Endoscopy.

Researchers studied a nurse-led endoscopy clinic in terms of its effectiveness, cost, patient satisfaction and direct referrals from primary care providers.

Rectal bleeding was the most common reason for referral to the clinic, which had 706 patients referred since it opened in 1996.

Of the patients surveyed, 99 percent were satisfied with the services provided by the clinic.

Other Sources: Surgical Endoscopy