Long waits endured by patients has led to a hospital failing an assessment of one of its services.

Medway NHS Foundation Trust has lost accreditation from the Royal College of Physicians’ Joint Advisory Group (JAG) for gastrointestinal endoscopy procedures - the process of using a camera on the end of a tube to diagnose and treat problems in areas such as the stomach.

The JAG assessors decided to remove its endorsement of the service provided at Medway Maritime Hospital following an assessment in November last year.

JAG accreditation is an annual assessment of a hospital’s services related to clinical quality, quality of patient experience, support for workforce and training.

It takes into account leadership and organisation, safety, aftercare, treating patients with dignity and patient involvement.

It is not essential for services to be JAG accredited and not being so does not mean they are inherently unsafe, but means they do not meet the standards set by the Royal College of Physicians.

Medway Maritime’s gastrointestinal endoscopy service has received the “Not awarded” status, meaning it must undergo another assessment as soon as the trust self-declares it meets all the standards to regain accreditation.

Nick Sinclair, Medway NHS Foundation Trust chief operating officer, said the trust understood where improvements were necessary and it was taking significant steps towards regaining the JAG quality mark.

He said: ‘’We are committed to providing safe, high-quality and effective endoscopy services and we welcome the role of the Joint Advisory Group as a valuable improvement tool that supports service development.

‘’In September 2024 we opened an additional endoscopy unit at the hospital which has helped our hardworking teams to significantly cut waiting times for these important diagnostic tests - this is now seeing patients seven days a week.

“Last month, almost two-thirds of patients (63%) had their test within the waiting time standard of six weeks, up from a quarter (25%) before the new unit opened.’’

The Medway Maritime endoscopy unit offers diagnostic and therapeutic service for both inpatients and outpatients and treats an average of 500 patients a month.

It also offers training for junior doctors and registrars with consultant supervision.

The nursing team is made up of one senior clinical sister, two clinical sisters, 12 staff nurses, one advanced practitioner and three clinical support workers.

Medway Maritime received the result of the assessment in February and is aiming to apply for reassessment within six months to regain its accreditation.