In anticipation of World Patient Safety Day, Jeff Voller heard from our lay assessors to understand their role in ensuring patient safety through the patient pathway.

Patient-centred care is the cornerstone of the JAG programme: lay assessors are involved in all JAG site assessments to look at the patient pathway from a patient perspective, ensuring patients are fully informed when making decisions about their treatment. Patients need to have absolute confidence they are safe in the hands of the clinician; this is the cornerstone of any patient/clinician relationship.

During the 30 years of JAG there have been vast improvements seen within services that impact patient safety, both directly and indirectly. The procurement of better equipment allied with technological advancements has led to a better experience and earlier diagnosis for patients.

An early and correct diagnosis can have a massive impact on not only a patient’s physical outcomes but also on their psychological outcome. It can improve quality of life as poorly controlled and undiagnosed disease can result in years of pain, surgeries, medications, transfusions, feeding tubes, invasive investigations, hospital stays, and complications, some of which may have been avoided with an early and correct diagnosis.

Early diagnosis can have an incredible impact on physical outcomes for patients, but it is also vital for good psychological outcomes. The fear, stress, and anxiety of being ill and not knowing what is wrong cannot be overstated. A particular diagnosis will inevitably bring its own specific worries, but there is power, and validation in being able to finally give a patient a definitive diagnosis. Suddenly there is something to work towards, a diagnosis often brings with it a plan of action. This can be a lifeline for patients who have previously felt lost, isolated, and perhaps even hopeless. In a lot of cases, no diagnosis means no plan – no information, no strategy, nobody taking control, no help. For patients who are seriously or chronically ill, there is so much at stake, and so much of what a patient can get out of life can be protected and preserved by having early access to the right care.

Lay assessors use their own experiences to view the patient pathway from the point of view of the patient. Over the past 30 years of JAG, we have seen services look beyond the day of the appointment to emphasise the importance of the whole patient journey. Services have implemented improvements through the JAG assessment process, increasing the levels of information available to the patient prior to their appointment right through diagnosis and to post discharge.  

One cannot underestimate the difference accreditation can make to patient safety with so many significant issues identified and addressed during the process, not just by the assessors but also by the dedicated endoscopy teams who are provided with support and assistance to facilitate them being able to provide the safest possible service to their patients. 

The JAG accreditation standards have also contributed to improvements in patient privacy and dignity with single sex ward areas and in many instances single person pods introduced.

Staff training has improved with the support of JETS and JAG Workforce, and this has aided the upskilling of the endoscopy workforce within the services. This upskilling is vital when it comes to early diagnosis and the benefits that these give to the patient’s quality of life.

JAG programmes help to promote patient safety by helping to raise standards in healthcare. JETS (JAG Endoscopy Training System) support endoscopists in the UK to deliver high quality and standardised training. JETS provides an online logbook, facilitates trainees to demonstrate their competence and is used to advertise and quality assure JAG approved training courses and centres. We currently have 8,233 completed JETS certificates.

The Bowel Cancer Screening Programme (BCSP) began operating in England in 2006 with the aim to increase early detection and reduce mortality. To ensure endoscopists working within the programme are of a consistently high standard, all endoscopists must be accredited. JAG provides the quality assurance accreditation of endoscopists on behalf of NHS England and NHS Wales.

Subjects aged 60–69 are being invited to complete three guaiac faecal occult blood tests (6 windows) every 2 years. The programme aims to reduce mortality from colorectal cancer by 16% in those invited for screening. Currently there are 618 accreditations in England and a further nine accreditations in Wales.

At JAG, we look forward to continuing to strive for improvement in healthcare, with a strong focus on the patient voice within our assessments and processes. To learn more about the assessment process, click here, or for further information on the JETS and JETS workforce programmes, click here. 

With thanks to Andrew Hudson, Kate Gray, Liz Harlaar & Rick Jewell for their contribution to this article.