GESA Reaffirms its Commitment to Quality Colonoscopy

The Gastroenterological Society of Australia (GESA) reaffirms its commitment to reducing deaths from bowel cancer by ensuring access to appropriate, high-quality colonoscopy.

Bowel cancer screening with FOBT and colonoscopy surveillance according to evidence-based guidelines provides the highest standard of care for all Australians.

GESA provides a wide range of peer-to-peer endoscopy education opportunities offering upskilling to all colonoscopists and teachers of colonoscopy. This commitment ensures that colonoscopy is performed to the highest possible standards across Australia.

In addition the introduction of a Colonoscopy Recertification programme in 2016 safeguards these standards.

Australia is leading the way internationally with its Colonoscopy Standards for practitioners.

Screening for Bowel Cancer

“GESA actively promotes the use of colonoscopy as a screening and surveillance procedure for preventing bowel cancer,” said GESA President Narci Teoh.

“Our evidence shows that if you have a colonoscopy performed by a trained and certified practitioner in Australia, there is a good chance a polyp will be detected and removed before it has the chance to develop into bowel cancer. In other words, quality colonoscopies are potentially lifesaving.”

A list of all GESA Recertified practitioners is publicly available via the GESA Colonoscopy Recertification website, so Australians who want extra reassurance that they are having a high quality procedure can readily check if their colonoscopist is listed. Many colonoscopists have undergone or are currently undergoing the recertification process. Recertification is required every 3 years.

Rates of Colonoscopy

The Australian Commission for Safety and Quality in Health (ACSQH) reports in its Australian Atlas of Healthcare Variation that colonoscopy rates vary significantly around Australia.

Attempts to address this imbalance should focus on improving access to colonoscopy where rates are low and ensuring that colonoscopic surveillance is performed according to evidence-based guidelines such as those recently updated by the National Health and Medical Research Council.

GESA notes that uptake for bowel cancer screening using home-based FOBT testing is currently only 38%, with the lowest rates in rural, outer-regional and remote areas. GESA therefore welcomes Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt’s $10 million Federal initiative this year to boost participation rates in bowel cancer screening.

Support for MBS review

GESA strongly supports the aims of the MBS Review to ensure taxpayers’ money is used to improve health outcomes for all Australians. It is essential however that expert clinicians are able to maintain autonomy in the management of individual cases which do not fit neatly within guideline recommendations.

“The MBS Review Taskforce has a mammoth mission. GESA and its expert representatives have worked closely and collaboratively with the MBS Review team throughout the process so far and will continue to do so” Narci Teoh concluded.

For further information please contact: president@gesa.org.au