Spire Washington Hospital achieves JAG re-accreditation for second year running

A private hospital in Washington has just received the UK’s ‘industry best’ award for its Endoscopy Unit.

Spire Washington Hospital in Rickleton has been awarded the JAG re-accreditation, for the second year in a row. Home to dedicated endoscopy facilities, investigations and procedures, Spire Washington is internationally recognised for its quality mark only awarded to endoscopy units that meet the highest quality standards.

During rigorous inspections the aim of the JAG (Joint Advisory Group) team is to ensure patients receive the best possible care from a highly skilled clinical team including clinical quality, experience and workforce capabilities.

Head of Clinical Services Richard Smith is "delighted" by the award and "exceptionally proud of his team."

Richard added: “While we have always delivered exceptional standards of clinical care we now have formalised this through the JAG accreditation. It has been a huge learning experience for us – both in the endoscopy unit and in the hospital as a whole.”

As part of their report the JAG assessors made several comments about endoscopy services including:

• The clinical lead is congratulated on his engagement with the service and the appropriate management of performance when required
• The service is congratulated on their recent changes to the patient pathway which improves patient privacy and dignity
• The assessors congratulate the service on the level and content of the patient feedback which is overwhelmingly positive and complimentary

Spire Washington Hospital Director Shelagh Alderson said:

“The assessors from the Joint Advisory Group (JAG) commended and highlighted a number of areas of excellence in the service at Spire Washington Hospital: recent changes to the patient pathway which improves patient privacy and dignity, the Clinical Lead Dr J Silcock was congratulated on his engagement with the service and the appropriate management of performance when required, and the assessors also congratulated the service on the level and content of patient feedback which they described as overwhelmingly positive and complimentary.

"I am very proud to announce that Spire Washington Hospital is awarded JAG re- accreditation, because to achieve this, hospitals must meet high regulatory and clinical standards, demonstrate strong management of the service and most of all strive for continuous improvement and good patient outcomes. I would like to use this opportunity to say a huge well done and thank you to all staff members who contributed to this great achievement.

“I am delighted that we have achieved JAG re-accreditation at Spire Washington Hospital. The whole team has worked incredibly hard to achieve this and it is a sign of a job well done.”