| 53 T T Karen Phelps New clinic provides more capacity Designed by Jasmax and built by main contractor Naylor Love, the facility reflects nearly three decades of clinical experience and operational refinement by its founder. Endoscopy Auckland DEVELOPMENT Endoscopy Auckland has opened the doors to a major new purpose-built facility in Epsom as demand continues to rise with New Zealand’s ageing population. The new centre at 22 Kipling Avenue replaces the organisation’s long-standing Gillies Avenue site, and more than doubles procedural capacity. Designed by Jasmax and built by main contractor Naylor Love, the facility reflects nearly three decades of clinical experience and operational refinement by its founder. “I could see there was a need for a larger stand-alone unit with a growing awareness of bowel cancer and an ageing population,” says John Dunn, chief executive and surgeon. “From the beginning the focus was on efficiency, safety and patient comfort.” Endoscopy Auckland is the country’s oldest stand-alone endoscopy unit, first opening in 1997 after the conversion of a property on Gillies Avenue. In 2001, an operating theatre was added to allow laparoscopic surgery, a technique John introduced to New Zealand in the early 1990s after learning it while working in South Africa. It has remained consistently busy ever since, with capacity constraints ultimately driving the move to a new site. The Kipling Avenue facility has four procedure rooms, up from two previously, and 16 patient beds. With patients typically completing the entire process within two hours, it can accommodate up to 80 procedures a day. Services include colonoscopy and gastroscopy, used to investigate conditions such as bowel cancer, ulcers, reflux, colitis, diverticulitis and coeliac disease. “Bowel cancer is one of the true preventable cancers,” says John. “By examining the bowel and removing polyps, you can actually stop cancer developing. We find polyps in about 60% of the people we scope, and as a result the number of bowel cancers we detect in our patients is dropping dramatically.” Around 3000 new bowel cancer cases are diagnosed in New Zealand each year, and despite treatment about half of those patients will die. Early detection significantly improves outcomes, and prevention through screening and removal of polyps is even more powerful. John recommends routine colonoscopy every five years, advising people to begin screening from age 45 as incidence in younger age groups continues to rise. John has instigated and been involved in every aspect of the new facility to ensure it is highly functional. Each procedure room is paired with four dedicated patient rooms, allowing patients to remain in one private space from admission through recovery. Procedure tables even convert into recovery chairs, reducing patient movement and improving comfort, privacy and efficiency. A deeper level of sedation is used to ensure a pain-free, low-stress experience. “The patients are really enjoying it, as are the doctors and nurses,” says John. “Our results are world-class, with very high polyp detection rates.” Endoscopy Auckland employs around 100 staff, including approximately 30 specialist surgeons, gastroenterologists and anaesthetists. While the operating company is owned by private healthcare groups Allevia and Evolution, and the land and buildings by Vital Healthcare, it remains distinctive in being clinician-designed and clinician-led. “That means we can make decisions quickly,” says John. “Our staff are highly skilled and experienced, with some having worked with me for more than 20 years.” With the new facility now open, the next phase will be expanding the medical workforce to meet what John describes as a “tsunami of need” driven by demographic change, ensuring access to timely, high-quality care well into the future. John Dunn. Endoscopy Auckland chief executive and surgeon. Find Us North Shore Branch 61a Paul Matthews Road, Rosedale, Auckland Henderson Branch 8b Woodruffe Avenue, Henderson, Auckland Contact Us design@kitchentheme.co.nz Tel: 09 - 414 6166 Fax: 09 - 414 6167 www.kitchentheme.co.nz
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