Videos to improve patient care are recognised as Quality Improvement Winner

04/09/2018

A project to improve and measure patient satisfaction in endoscopy procedures has been announced as Quality Improvement Winner 2018 presented at the British Society of Gastroenterology conference.

Dr Laith Al Rubaiy, from the Gastroenterology and Hepatology department at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board was recognised as the Guts UK/Dr Falk Spr Trainee Audit/Quality Improvement Award Winner 2018.

This is an annual award that recognises Gastroenterologist doctors who conduct a quality improvement project in Gastroenterology or liver disease. Dr Al Rubaiy’s project will use educational videos on endoscopy procedures that patients can watch before a procedure which aims to improve their experience and outcomes.

It is a unique project which has the potential to improve the quality of endoscopy services provided to patients. Patient satisfaction has become a key indicator of the quality of gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy procedures. It is, therefore, increasingly important to measure patient satisfaction to understand how those endoscopy procedures affect patients’ lives and what impact they have on their healthcare.

Dr Al Rubaiy and his colleagues have developed and published a new patient satisfaction questionnaire, called the Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Satisfaction Questionnaire (GESQ) which will be used to measure satisfaction in patients who had endoscopy.

The team will use this study to measure whether watching specially-made, short, educational videos about endoscopy procedures has an effect on patient’s satisfaction. The patients will watch the videos at home or at their bedside before having an endoscopy and it is hoped that watching the videos will improve the patient’s experience, for example by reducing anxiety before the procedure.

The GESQ will be used to measure patient satisfaction and collect information on the patient’s experience, and then compare their findings with the level of satisfaction obtained with the standard level of care, where no videos of procedures are shown to patients.

The project has been peer reviewed by Gastroenterologists, nurses and dietitians as well as patients.

Dr Al Rubaiy said “The field of endoscopy is developing rapidly and new techniques and procedures are introduced every year. The medical profession recognises the importance of patient satisfaction to be able to achieve excellence in healthcare.

“We hope these videos will improve patients’ knowledge and experience when having endoscopy which will in turn support and improve the quality of care of patients.”

Richard Evans, Director of Medicine Clinical Board said “Patients will understandably be nervous or anxious before a procedure so through using an information video it will hopefully alleviate their concerns. As a Clinical Board we look forward to seeing the results of this project and its impact on patient care.”

To view the videos click visit http://www.cardiffandvaleuhb.wales.nhs.uk/endoscopy-information-videos