The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital’s endoscopy service has been described as the best in the country following an inspection.

Assessors from the Joint Advisory Group (JAG) on Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, which is hosted by the Royal College of Physicians, visited the new unit at the Quadram Institute to ensure the Trust is meeting all regulatory requirements.

The service, which moved into the state-of-the-art building in December, received high praise from assessors who were impressed by the design and found all endoscopists working to the “highest performance standards.”

The lead assessor said: “The new endoscopy environment is a modern state-of-the-art facility that is perhaps the best I have seen to date. The careful design supports not only an exceptional patient experience but is also a unique and exceptional place for staff to work in.

It’s a centre to be very proud of and the endoscopy leadership team is congratulated on not just the design but the hard work put into considering every aspect of the process.”

The NNUH Gastroenterology department at the Quadram Institute, which has ten procedure rooms, has the capacity to conduct at least 40,000 procedures a year, making it one of the largest endoscopy centres in Europe.

Richard Tighe, NNUH Consultant Gastroenterologist, said: “We are delighted to receive our JAG accreditation for our new endoscopy unit and to receive such high commendations for the services we provide at the Quadram Institute.

We are proud of the new unit, which puts us at the forefront of endoscopy services and enables patients to receive quicker access to endoscopic diagnostics for patients and rapid access for the diagnosis or exclusion of gastrointestinal cancer.”

The Quadram Institute is a unique institution by bringing together a busy NHS department with scientists and researchers in a groundbreaking collaboration.

The Quadram Institute’s mission is to develop solutions to worldwide challenges in human health, food and disease. It has been created by four founding partners – the NNUH, University of East Anglia, Quadram Institute Bioscience and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) – to work across four research themes: the gut, healthy ageing, food innovation and food safety.