I’m Michael, a Senior Endoscopy Nurse, specialising in gastrointestinal care. For 10 years at the Alexandra Hospital, I have worked closely with gastroenterologists and surgeons in supporting patients through their diagnostic/therapeutic endoscopic procedures, ensuring their comfort, understanding, and, most importantly, their safety throughout the process. I’m passionate about delivering compassionate, high-quality patient care while contributing to a collaborative clinical team focused on improving digestive health outcomes.

What is the role of a Senior Endoscopic Practitioner at The Alexandra Hospital?  

My role as a Senior Endoscopy Practitioner involves supporting the Lead Endoscopy Practitioner in leading and supporting the endoscopy team in delivering high standards of endoscopy care. It also involves managing workflow within the endoscopy unit on a daily basis, liaising with the wards and the bookings team to ensure efficiency of the service and to deliver world-class endoscopy care. Part of my role is to supervise and mentor fellow nurses and student nurses, which is one of our core values in endoscopy.

What symptoms or conditions commonly lead to a referral for an endoscopy? 

There is a wide array of symptoms affecting the digestive tract, warranting the need for an endoscopy procedure. Patients who commonly present with persistent abdominal pain, heartburn/reflux, difficulty swallowing, unexplained nausea/vomiting, Iron Deficiency Anaemia or unexplained low blood counts, bloating/indigestion, unexplained weight loss, rectal bleeding, or even as simple as changes in bowel habits may necessitate speaking to a Gastroenterologist for the possibility of having an endoscopy procedure.

What’s new in endoscopy at The Alexandra Hospital?  

I am immensely proud to work at the Endoscopy Unit, especially now that we have the newest and most advanced endoscopy system from Olympus, the EVIS X1 CV-1500. Designed to improve the detection, characterisation and treatment of gastrointestinal and pulmonary disorders. On top of that, it’s also equipped with advanced imaging technology and is AI-capable/AI-powered. With this new technology, it is guaranteed that we can deliver gold standard endoscopy care to our patients.