QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER
JULY 2015
19/201 Wellington Parade South, East Melbourne VIC 3002
PH 03 9654 8033 FX 03 9650 9998
Email-admin@jolimont.com.au
FAECAL OCCULT BLOOD TEST
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer death and accounts for
approximately 9 percent of cancer deaths and 3 percent of total deaths. Removal of
premalignant adenomas can prevent the cancer and multiple test options are available for
screening. Most colorectal cancers arise from adenomatous polyps that progress from small
to large (>1.0 cm) polyps and then to dysplasia and cancer. The progression from adenoma
to carcinoma is believed to take at least 10 years on average. The slow transition from
polyps to colorectal cancer in most patients allows opportunities to prevent cancer by
removing polyps and to prevent cancer death by finding and removing early cancers. The
commonest screening tests are stool-based and improve disease prognosis by detecting
early stage treatable cancers and advanced adenomas. Older guaiac-based fecal occult
blood tests (gFOBT) have been replaced by faecal immunochemical tests (FIT or iFOBT).
Faecal immunochemical tests for haemoglobin are more specific than guaiac tests because
they respond only to human globin and do not detect upper gastrointestinal bleeding (since
the globin is digested in transit) or foods with peroxidase activity. Immunochemical tests
have the advantage over guaiac-based tests of requiring fewer stool samples (one or two,
compared with three) and automated analysis. They are more sensitive (about 3 x greater)
and more specific than Hemoccult II for CRC and advanced neoplasia, with a sensitivity of
0.79 (95% CI 0.69-0.86) and specificity of 0.94 (95% CI 0.92-0.95). In a population study of
20,322 average risk subjects aged 50 to 74 years, positive faecal tests led to 1277
colonoscopies, and demonstrated 43 invasive cancers (3.3%) and 270 advanced adenomas
(21%). Sensitivity of FOBT declines with delay in mailing or processing after sampling,
because of haemoglobin degradation.
The optimal interval for FOBT screening is not known, with guidelines from around the
world varying from every year to 3 yearly. In Australia, screening by FOBT is recommended
for the asymptomatic, average risk population from age 50 years every 2 years until age 75
years, provided there are repeated negative findings. Regular FOBT can reduce CRC
mortality by up to 16%.
The evaluation of a patient with a positive FOBT depends upon whether iron deficiency
anemia is present. Patients without iron deficiency anemia can be evaluated with
colonoscopy, with or without upper endoscopy (depending on the patient's symptoms).
Patients with iron deficiency anemia require a more extensive evaluation, including upper
endoscopy, colonoscopy, and often an evaluation of the small bowel.
Jolimont offers all the required investigations to your patients with a positive FOBT. If your
patient has a positive FOBT, please contact us on (03) 9654 8033 to discuss the clinical
situation, or fax a referral to (03) 9650 9998– we can usually arrange the procedure within
the week.
QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER
JULY 2015
19/201 Wellington Parade South, East Melbourne VIC 3002
PH 03 9654 8033 FX 03 9650 9998
Email-admin@jolimont.com.au
Partnering with Consumers
Jolimont Endoscopy aim to create a health service
which is responsive to patient, carer, and consumer
needs.
Saturday lists.
Saturday lists are popular so please ring Jolimont
directly or use our web site to contact us regarding a
suitable date and time.
This is done through our patient surveys, collecting data
about your experiences and feeding the results back to
staff so we can be responsive to any changes proposed
and so supporting the improvement of care delivery
and the environment for our patient’s.
Australian charter of Health Care Rights.
Here at Jolimont we ensure our patients
o Receive safe and high quality health care
o Are treated with respect and dignity
o Are informed about services and costs
o Are included in decision’s about care
o Have personal information treated
confidentially
o Can comment on care received.
We welcome comments relating to the work we do and
the service we provide. If you see an area we can
improve please let us know. This way we can ensure
that you have access to understandable health
information. This is essential for health care
professionals and patients to have their choices taken
into consideration and allow staff to support your
requirements and needs more effectively.
Performance Indicators as per NSQHS
Jolimont collect data on the following to facilitate
the improvement of our quality care.
Falls – Nil
Medication incidents- Nil
Transfers to Hospital –Nil
Use of Antibiotics post procedure – Nil
Follow up phone calls to patients.
Cancellations and reasons why.
Incidents and any Adverse outcomes.
Consumer Education
Infection Control
Yearly Audits are performed by Melbourne Pathology to
ensure Compliance with the NSQH standards.
This year our Audit result was 97%.
This audit ensures staff are following correct procedure
and maintaining the high standards set by the
Australian standards.
Hand Hygiene
Our Health care staff should be performing hand
hygiene regularly and we welcome patients reminding
them of this as Hand Hygiene plays a major role in
stopping the spread of infections.
The National Benchmark is 70% and Jolimont’s
compliance is at 87.9% (OCT 2014) .
Crohns & Colitis www.crohnsandcolitis.com.
Irritable Bowel Disease www.ibis-australia.org
Coeliac www.coeliac.org.au
Jolimont WEB Site www.jolimont.com.au
Contains information for both patients and health
care professionals to make the process of referral
and visit as simple as possible.
 Capsule Endoscopy Referral
 Newsletter
 Patient Interactive Admission form
 Patient admission check list
 Privacy Statement