THE new endoscopy unit at Hillingdon Hospital opened this week as part of the final stage of a £12.3m redevelopment.

It is designed to ensure a streamlined journey for patients from admissions, through to eventual discharge, a process that can be completed within two hours.

Paula Wheatley, endoscopy manager, said: “It’s a much nicer environment for patients and staff - and there is a lot of new equipment that helps us provide even better care.”

There is room for seven patients at a time in the new unit, and each patient room has an en-suite bathroom for privacy and comfort.

The unit is within the new, two-storey Nightingale Centre, which opened in December; the largest single redevelopment of the hospital in 20 years.

Hillingdon also opened a 46-bed acute medical unit in December and has made improvements to the A&E department and the paediatric emergency department.

Endoscopy is the visual examination of the inside of the body, using an endoscope (a long, tube-like optical viewing instrument).

It is a reliable method of investigating problems with the internal organs of the body and can be used to extract tissue samples for further testing (biopsy), and remove foreign bodies.