King's Mill Hospital experts praised for their work in Pakistan

TOP TEAM -- endoscopy experts with their awards, (from left) clinical endoscopist Paul Hagan, consultant surgeon Richard Hind, nurse endoscopist Sharon Hudson and associate operations manager Cally Jarvis.

Over the past five years, the team has been responsible for training more than 150 doctors across Pakistan, so that treatment of stomach and bowel conditions in the country can be improved.

Now its clinical endoscopist, Paul Hagan, has received a lifetime achievement award from the Pakistani government for his contributions to education. And the team as a whole has been presented with achievement awards by the Civil Hospital and Dow Medical College, which are both in the country’s largest city, Karachi.

The successful team forms the endoscopy department of Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs King’s Mill, Mansfield Community Hospital and also Newark Hospital.

Proud Paul said: “Our staff have given up holiday and study leave to deliver training in Pakistan. They have used a combination of face-to-face sessions and screen-to-screen presentations.

“We have built up a faculty of training experts, and these awards are well-deserved recognition for them. Not just the clinical staff but also members of the administration teams.”

Endoscopy is a non-surgical procedure to examine a patient’s digestive tract. An endoscope is a flexible tube with a light and camera attached to it that enables doctors to view pictures of the tract on a TV monitor and investigate possible conditions such as bowel cancer, ulcers and gall stones.

“Better-quality investigations lead to earlier and more accurate diagnoses,” added Paul. “This, in turn, leads to more accurate and effective treatments, which mean better results for patients.”

Sherwood Forest Hospitals’ endoscopy department is one of 26 specialist training centres in the UK and is respected throughout the medical profession. Its endoscopists have also trained staff in the Republic Of Ireland, Nepal, Iceland and the USA.

About 14,000 procedures are carried out too at King’s Mill and Newark Hospitals each year. The department has received accreditation from the Joint Advisory Group on Gastro-intestinal Endoscopy, which boasts representatives from the Royal College of Physicians, the Royal College of General Practitioners, the Royal College of Radiologists and the Royal College of Nursing.

The awards are the latest feather in the cap for the Trust, which was taken out of special measures by inspectors earlier this month after raising standards.