BMJ  2004;329:1288 (27 November), doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7477.1288

Letter

Colonoscopy completion rates

Author's reply

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—We agree that the more time the better, and ideally we could lengthen our appointments still further. Royal college guidance is clear, but few data are adhered to and discussions with other consultants and trainees show that appointment times vary considerably and trainees do not always have adequate time for training. Our report was true for our unit and the 20 minute appointments were historical. Clearly adequate arrangements need to be made for trainees and guidelines should be followed by having a well-performing trainer present at all times with trainees until their performance is good enough for independent practice.

This now happens in our unit, and trainees are not excluded from colonoscopy. However, colonoscopy training should be undertaken only by those with sufficient time and at an appropriate time in their career to learn this skill. With the reduction in training times resulting from the European Working Time . . . [Full text of this article]

Mark R Welfare, senior lecturer

North Tyneside General Hospital, North Shields NE29 8NH doctormarkw@aol.com


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Relevant Article

Quality improvement programme to achieve acceptable colonoscopy completion rates: prospective before and after study
Jennifer E Ball, Jane Osbourne, Sarah Jowett, Mike Pellen, and Mark R Welfare
BMJ 2004 329: 665-667. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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