You will most commonly have contact with the endoscopy unit following referral from your General Practitioner (GP) or a hospital specialist. In some cases you will be contacted to arrange a follow up (eg due to a stomach ulcer) or surveillance (eg due to previous polyps in the bowel) procedure.
After receipt of your referral by the administrative team, you will be added to the endoscopy waiting list. The waiting times for each procedure vary depending upon the urgency with which you have been referred and the type of procedure that has been requested. If you develop any new symptoms after you have been referred we advise that you seek further medical advice. (Please note that the administrative staff are not medically trained and should not be contacted for this reason.)
The endoscopy booking centre will attempt to contact you on three separate occasions by telephone to arrange for your procedure, trying different parts of the day and early evening. If they are successful in contacting you they will ask you some routine questions about any previous medical conditions and medications you take. Following this they will agree an appointment date and post information to you about how to prepare for the procedure. If the booking centre is unable to contact you by telephone, they will send you a letter requesting you to phone them within 14 days. If we receive no contact from you within this period, your referral will be returned to the referring doctor.
In some cases we are able to ‘direct book’ your procedure after you have been seen in an outpatient clinic. The consultant or specialist nurse will complete an endoscopy referral form and give this to you to take to the endoscopy unit. Please give this form to the receptionist and explain that you have been sent from clinic to arrange for an endoscopy procedure. A member of the administrative team will provide you with an information booklet about the procedure that has been requested. Once you have had opportunity to read through this, they will ask you some questions about any previous medical conditions and medications you take. They will agree an appointment date and provide you with information about how to prepare for the procedure.
Bowel cancer screening colonoscopy procedures are arranged separately by dedicated Bowel Cancer Screening Practitioners organised directly by the Bowel Screening Programme. The respiratory department arranges Bronchoscopy procedures independently.