Patient Mei Own (right) was one of the first patients to be treated in the new endoscopy suites. She is pictured with Registered Nurse, Sharon McClements.

TPCH Endoscopy Service has reached an important milestone with the first patients being seen through the new modular suites last month.

Intensive preparation was undertaken by staff to ensure the new facility was ready to deliver services to patients during the last week of February.

The new suites contain two full sized procedure rooms, a decontamination room and six recovery spaces, all featuring state-of-the-art equipment. The new suites will allow approximately 400 additional procedures to be performed every month, supporting the growing demand on the service.

Director of TPCH’s Gastroenterology and Hepatology Service Professor Tony Rahman said the new suites were an excellent improvement for the service.

“TPCH is one of Queensland’s busiest gastroenterology services performing around 8,500 procedures each year, 60 per cent of which are colonoscopies,” Prof Rahman said.

“Over the last five years, the service has experienced significant growth, with more members of the community needing these vital procedures.

“Having these expanded, more modern facilities will allow more patients to receive high quality, facilitating early diagnosis and timely treatment.”