One of Europe’s largest endoscopy centres has opened to its first patients.
The Gastroenterology department at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) has moved some of its services to the state-of-the-art Quadram Institute.
The multi-million pound facility on Norwich Research Park is home to a range of endoscopy and bowel cancer screening services.
The NNUH Gastroenterology department at Quadram Institute will be able to conduct at least 40,000 procedures a year in the facility, making it one of the largest endoscopy centres in Europe, as part of its expansion of services.
Work on the building, in James Watson Road, began in 2016.
The Quadram Institute is a unique institution by bringing together a busy NHS department with scientists and researchers in a groundbreaking collaboration
Dr Simon Rushbrook, the clinical lead for Gastroenterology at NNUH said: “We are delighted to be moving into this fantastic new building and we are really excited to be starting our endoscopic service in this state-of-the-art building.
"The Quadram Institute is a unique institution by bringing together a busy NHS department with scientists and researchers in a groundbreaking collaboration.
"This puts our department at the forefront of endoscopy services and increase capacity. It will result in quicker access to endoscopic diagnostics for patients and rapid access for the diagnosis or exclusion of gastrointestinal cancer.”
The Quadram Institute’s mission is to develop solutions to worldwide challenges in human health, food and disease. It has been created by four founding partners – the NNUH, University of East Anglia, Quadram Institute Bioscience and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) - to work across four research themes: the gut, healthy ageing, food innovation and food safety.
The concept for the institute is to enable a step-change in food and health science research by providing new insights and accelerating innovation that will deliver new foods and treatments as well as proactive health and lifestyle interventions, for the benefit of society and the bio-economy.
Mark Davies, Chief Executive of NNUH, said: "I'd like to congratulate everyone at NNUH involved in this project and their hard work. The Quadram Institute is an incredible building and we are looking forward to welcoming our first patients to the new endoscopy centre. We look forward to building upon our close partnership with the scientists and researchers at the Quadram Institute once it is fully occupied."
The 10 room endoscopy centre at the Quadram Institute will be run under a managed service agreement between NNUH and Genmed, working in partnership with Olympus to provide the latest medical devices, which includes all endoscopes and associated equipment.
In addition, a seven year maintenance agreement has been agreed by the three parties. The maintenance agreement, fulfilled by Olympus, will ensure that the equipment will always be in peak condition and available for clinical use.
Alex Zervakis, Regional Account Executive for Commercial Excellence at Olympus, said: "We were delighted to work in collaboration with Genmed and NNUH on such an exciting and significant new project. A unit of this size is a fantastic addition not only to the hospital but to the local community who will benefit hugely from shorter waiting times, excellent care and the latest technologies while undergoing both diagnostic investigation and therapeutic treatment."