REVIEW OF THE YEAR BY THE CHAIRMAN

Gastro WaitingTimes FallPatients are benefiting from shorterwaiting times for gastroenterologyprocedures. During the past 12months, waiting times for colonoscopyand gastroscopy have fallen from ninemonths to six weeks and the waitingtime for flexible sigmoidoscopy is nowjust one week. This is the result of amassive team effort from staff acrossthe department. An additionalconsultant and associate specialisthave been appointed to support theservice.Development of Outof-HoursGI BleedServiceA new on-call rota has been set upwith the ConsultantGastroenterologists to provide aservice for patients who present to A& E with severe upper GI bleedingout-of-hours. The Trust is one of thefirst in the North West to develop sucha service.35