RCP-hosted Joint Advisory Group on GI Endoscopy marks 15 million endoscopy procedures recorded since 2015

The latest JAG annual report sets out progress across endoscopy accreditation, training, workforce development, bowel cancer screening accreditation, research and national data improvement. It comes as endoscopy services continue to play a vital role in diagnosis, treatment and ongoing patient care. In the last year, more than 2.4 million patients underwent an endoscopy procedure in the UK and Ireland, underlining the importance of high quality, safe and sustainable services.

In 2025, 519 services across the UK and Republic of Ireland were registered with JAG, with 238 accredited. The proportion of accredited services increased from 43.1% to 45.9% during the year. JAG accreditation also undertook 56 assessments, with 18 services awarded accreditation for the first time and 38 services successfully completing reaccreditation.

The report highlights progress in streamlining accreditation standards. A 5-year standards review was completed in 2025, with the revised framework reducing the number of domains from 19 to 11 and the number of individual standards from 133 to 80. The updated standards are designed to improve clarity and usability for services while maintaining quality and alignment with current guidance.

Training and workforce development remain central to JAG’s work. In 2025, 687 individuals gained certification in at least one endoscopic modality, while 1,735 delegates attended ENDO courses. The JETS Workforce programme now supports more than 10,000 users across more than 500 units, providing a structured approach to training, assessment and appraisal for the wider endoscopy workforce.

The report also shows continued progress in bowel cancer screening accreditation. There are now 715 registered bowel cancer screeners across the UK, an increase of 9.7% from 2024, with 63 endoscopists successfully gaining accreditation in 2025.

The National Endoscopy Database (NED) continues to grow as a key source of insight for services and clinicians. Since its launch, more than 15 million procedures have been uploaded, with around 200,000 procedures added each month. In 2025 alone, more than 2.3 million procedures were uploaded, representing an 8.2% increase on the previous year.

Dr Tom Lee, chair of JAG, said:

‘Endoscopy services are central to high quality diagnosis, treatment and patient care. This report shows the scale of work taking place across the endoscopy community to improve standards, support the workforce and make better use of data to drive quality improvement.

‘The role of JAG is to support services, clinicians and the wider endoscopy workforce to deliver safe, effective and patient-centred care. Over the last year, we have made significant progress in accreditation, training, workforce development and national data improvement, while continuing to evolve our approach so that it remains relevant and useful for services.

‘I would like to thank everyone involved in JAG’s work, including our clinical leads, assessors, faculty, operational team, stakeholders and the services taking part in accreditation and training. Their commitment is helping to improve endoscopy care for patients across the UK and Ireland.’

Looking ahead, JAG will continue to support services through updated standards, expanded training programmes and further development of national data systems. Planned work includes launching the first phase of an accreditation pathway for insourcing providers, expanding training support for services and assessors, reviewing the JETS Workforce competency framework and further improving NED data quality and reporting.

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