Private gastroenterology in Reading: endoscopy, bowel and liver services

Spire Dunedin defines its gastroenterology work as diseases of the digestive tract, from the oesophagus and stomach through the small intestine and bowel to the pancreas and liver. The conditions it lists begin with bowel disease and inflammatory bowel disease and continue through irritable bowel syndrome, liver disease, gastrointestinal cancer and bowel cancer. On procedures, it names endoscopy facilities for colonoscopy and gastroscopy, along with a bowel disorder test, bowel cancer screening, and a liver and kidney test.

The treatment side of the page extends to bowel surgery with colostomy and ileostomy, clinical nutrition, nutrition and dietetics, pancreatology services and coloproctology, which deals with the lower bowel and anus. Imaging listed is X-ray, MRI, CT and ultrasound. Taken together, the page ties diagnosis, surgery and nutrition support to one specialty.

The Berkshire Independent Hospital lists gastroenterology among its treatments and services and names endoscopy under tests and scans. Its description of a dedicated day surgery suite suitable for minor surgery and endoscopy shows where such procedures take place. The page does not list conditions, so ask which consultants run the clinic.

Spire Dunedin is at Bath Road, Reading (RG1 6NS), with the main hospital at number 16 and consulting suites at numbers 22 and 13. The page gives a ten-minute taxi ride from the station, and the route from the M4 as junction 12 and then the A4, about three and a half miles to the hospital on the left. Parking is free on site, with a drop-off area at 22 Bath Road, which matters if you are having an endoscopy with sedation and need someone to collect you.

That is a practical point for any endoscopy. Sedation is common for colonoscopy and sometimes for gastroscopy, and hospitals typically ask patients not to drive afterwards and to have an adult with them. Ask the provider what it requires for the specific procedure, including bowel preparation instructions for colonoscopy, which need to be followed carefully for the examination to be useful.

The Berkshire Independent Hospital's page gives no street address, parking or transport information in the text retrieved, so ask the hospital. Royal Berkshire Private Healthcare treats insured and self-funding patients at the Royal Berkshire Hospital (London Road, RG1 5AN) and West Berkshire Community Hospital, with free parking at the former and not the latter, and says income is reinvested in the local NHS.

The trust describes comprehensive inpatient and outpatient services for gastrointestinal and liver diseases, including specialist hepatology, inflammatory bowel disease management and hospital nutrition support, and says its team collaborates with surgery to deliver rapid cancer assessment services. The main site is on Craven Road at the Royal Berkshire Hospital campus, with a second site at West Berkshire Community Hospital, and a dedicated endoscopy service with its own wait list office.

The department also publishes a large library of patient information leaflets, which is a helpful resource whichever route you take, since leaflets on bowel preparation or on living with Crohn's disease are written for the same patients. For urgent cancer referrals in England, the NHS says cancer should be confirmed or ruled out within 28 days, and the maximum wait for non-urgent consultant-led treatment is 18 weeks. NHS Thames Valley ICB is the board listed for the area.

Irritable bowel syndrome is diagnosed largely on symptoms, once more serious conditions have been considered; tests are used to rule out coeliac disease, inflammatory bowel disease and, in people over a certain age or with warning signs, bowel cancer. Inflammatory bowel disease, which includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, shows up in blood tests, stool tests for inflammation, and colonoscopy with biopsies. Treatment ranges from anti-inflammatory medicines to biologic drugs and, for some patients, surgery.

Indigestion, reflux and difficulty swallowing may lead to gastroscopy, in which a thin camera is passed through the mouth into the stomach to look at the lining and take biopsies. Colonoscopy examines the whole large bowel and allows polyps to be removed at the same time. Dunedin also lists bowel cancer screening, but the NHS bowel cancer screening programme sends invitations through the post for eligible age groups, and a private test does not replace it.

Liver disease may be picked up through abnormal blood tests and needs imaging, such as ultrasound, to look for fatty change or scarring, with specialist hepatology input if needed. The page at Dunedin lists liver disease among its conditions, so ask for details of the clinic if this is your concern.

Hospitals change what they offer, so verify specifics with the provider close to the date.

• Will the consultation and the endoscopy happen on the same visit, or separately?

• What sedation is offered, and what arrangements are needed for getting home?

• Who performs and reports the procedure, and how long do biopsy results take?

• If something serious is found, what is the pathway and who coordinates care?

• What does the quote include: consultant, hospital, sedation, biopsies, laboratory work and follow-up?

Vomiting blood, passing black tarry stools, severe abdominal pain, a rigid tender abdomen or collapse need an emergency response. Call 999 or go to the Emergency Department at the Royal Berkshire Hospital. Blood in the stool that is persistent, a change in bowel habit lasting several weeks, unexplained weight loss, or difficulty swallowing should be raised with a GP promptly, who can use the urgent suspected cancer pathway where appropriate.

Mild, long-standing symptoms such as bloating, intermittent loose stools or heartburn are usually not urgent, but they are worth discussing with a GP before choosing a private consultant, because simple measures and blood tests may answer the question.