Improving Patient Pathways with SSD

We partner with healthcare providers across the globe to support the shift in patient pathways away from surgical intervention towards therapeutic endoscopy, by facilitating the implementation of Speedboat Submucosal Dissection (SSD).

If you would like to find out more about how we do this, please get in touch.

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East Kent Hospitals - Complex Polyp Service

East Kent Hospital University Foundation Trust's (EKHUFT) complex polyp service is the first of its kind globally – combining Creo’s advanced energy technology with multi-disciplinary expertise to improve patient outcomes and streamline pathways. EKHUFT launched a complex polyp service facilitated by Speedboat Inject and SSD. It has changed the patient pathway from one of surgical intervention to less invasive out-patient treatment with better outcomes for:

  • Patients
  • Clinical Teams
  • Hospitals

Click on the video sliders to learn what it has meant for their patients, doctors, nurses and the hospital [1].

Consultant Gastroenterologist

Zach Tsiamoulos
Consultant Gastroenterologist East Kent Hospitals

Nurse and Endoscopy Unit Manager

Becky Smith
Nurse and Endoscopy Unit Manager, East Kent Hospitals

Patients

Mary and Chris
Patients treated by the Complex Polyp Service

“The complex polyp service reflects many things. We have managed to change the pathway for the patient, it was a game changer to bring patients from day surgery to the endoscopy theatre”

Dr. Zacharias Tsiamoulos
Consultant Gastroenterologist, East Kent University Hospitals

“I was back in the gym within 2 weeks. I was given the all-clear, I rejoiced! I've had no bleeding, no pain, [needed] no follow up treatment. It's a no brainer”

Chris, South East England
Patient

“With the efficiency savings being shown, if other organisations were able to take the same approach it would certainly manifest in additional savings”

Adam Reynolds, East Kent Hospitals
Healthcare Costing Professional

“With over 200 Speedboat Submucosal Dissection cases now completed, our in-depth costing work shows tangible and consistent financial benefits largely stemming from a reduction in the time patients are spending in hospital”

Elisa Llewellyn
Director of Commissioning, Contracting and Costing - NHS

“The pathway has changed completely, the patient can have their procedure and go home the next day. There's no long hospital stay, recovery or referrals to community services for them”

Becky Smith, East Kent Hospitals
Nurse and Endoscopy Unit Manager

“It was all a very positive experience – I can’t say anything negative about it. Once it’s done you can actually just carry on”

Mary, South East England
Patient

“The effect of the surgery was negligible, manageable to the extent to it being a non-event. I still couldn't square how much work was done for how little I felt that work had been done. I'm happy as anything. I'm getting out doing my stuff, exactly as I used to”

Richard, South East England
Patient

How can SSD change patient pathways?

We understand the importance of providing enhanced, cost-effective care for patients in your Trust or hospital. By bringing advanced energy to therapeutic endoscopy we can help achieve just that. SSD (an enhanced form of ESD) is largely used for the treatment of large non-pedunculated colorectal polyps. When comparing SSD to the traditional alternatives (EMR or surgery) at EKHUFT we found that:

  • Patients experienced a reduced amount of time at the hospital; both initially and number of follow-ups
  • SSD was a safer and less painful minimally invasive procedure
  • En-bloc (in one), curative resections were achieved – with the associated histology benefits
  • The preservation of the anatomy was achieved – with all the associated health benefits
  • A reduction in complications caused by infection, re-occurrence or other complications
  • There was greater flexibility for the hospital in terms of human, time and cash resources

In addition to the above, the nature of the learning curve and the support given to clinicians through the Pioneer Clinical Education Programme, means the introduction of SSD can facilitate a new way of treating patients, and therefore, resulting in a pathway that brings which results in a significant improvement in the Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) for patients [2].

The health economic benefits of SSD

Our advanced energy technology can transform lives but it can also save your healthcare setting thousands of pounds per patient

Approximately 177,000 ‘polyp of colon’ procedures are performed annually in the UK, these savings have the potential to save the NHS tens of millions of pounds per annum – something we’ve already seen manifested through health economic studies and our excellent Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALY) value [2].

A recent study [3] showed that introducing SSD to a patient’s pathway is highly likely to be a cost-effective strategy for treating both benign and malignant large non-pedunculated colorectal polyps and can lead to cost savings in NHS Hospitals of over £10,000 per procedure versus a traditional surgical outcome for patients, a saving of approximately 50%.

The potential savings vs EMR are also significant. A further Health Economic & Clinical Impact study (downloadable below) at EKHUFT [4] has shown that SSD offers significant savings for the NHS compared to traditional EMR and Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgery methods. The above data and evidence demonstrates some of the potential cost-efficiencies that SSD can help to achieve in a healthcare setting by:

  • Reducing time a patient spends in your hospital
  • Reducing need for further treatment, follow ups and community service referrals
  • Reducing need for multiple devices used during procedures

References

1. Video Interviews - October 2022. Filmed at East Kent Hospital University Foundation Trust. Featuring: Zacharias Tsiamoulos (Consultant Gastroenterologist EKHUFT), Becky Smith (Nurse and Endoscopy Unit Manager EKHUFT), Chris (Patient), Mary (Patient).

2. Cost-effectiveness analysis of Speedboat submucosal dissection in the management of large nonpedunculated colorectal polyps. Authors: Amir Ansaripour, Mehdi Javanbakht, Adam Reynolds and Zacharias Tsiamoulos

3. Recent Study - May 2021
Further health economics data validates Creo technology

4. Health Economics & Clinical Impact - SSD Clinical Efficacy: ESD vs. EMR and Laparoscopy. Published by Creo Medical based on published evidence and can be downloaded above via 'request 

If you are a healthcare professional looking for further information on how you can work with us, please get in touch