An endoscopic emergency is defined as any procedure performed to diagnose and/or treat gastrointestinal conditions that require immediate attention and/or pose a threat to the patient's life.

During routine care, urgent endoscopic procedures are performed by the unit's staff. However, emergencies outside working hours were handled by the hospital's backup staff.

Since April 2023, these procedures have been carried out by an on-call team consisting of an endoscopist, a registered nurse and a nursing assistant.

Urgent endoscopies are arranged via a call from the hospital switchboard to each member of the on-call team's corporate telephone.

The on-call duty hours are from 3 p.m. to 8 a.m. Monday to Friday, and 24 hours on Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays.

Depending on the patient's condition and haemodynamic stability, urgent digestive endoscopies can be performed in the Unit itself, the Emergency Department's resuscitation room, the Intensive Care Unit or the Surgical Area.

During on-call shifts, urgent digestive endoscopies on children can be performed at the Maternal and Child Hospital, which are always carried out in the Surgical Area.

Endoscopies performed at the Digestive Endoscopy Unit are carried out under deep sedation, guided by the endoscopist.

Upon arrival at the hospital, the nursing assistant is responsible for preparing the necessary equipment for the procedure, assisting the rest of the team during the procedure and reprocessing the endoscope and cleaning all equipment used safely and correctly. The nursing assistant's work is complete once the endoscope has been properly dried and stored.

Registered nurses are responsible for caring for patients during endoscopic procedures and performing the necessary techniques to control or resolve any emergencies. Once the patient has been transferred back to their original unit, their work is complete.

The presence of on-call nursing staff with the specific knowledge, training and skills required to perform urgent digestive endoscopies has significantly improved the safety, attention and quality of care provided to our patients.

There has been a significant increase in the number of emergency procedures performed outside working hours since the introduction of the on-call team, rising from 600 in 2022 to 906 in 2024. By 1 November 2025, a total of 803 emergency endoscopies had been performed.

Likewise, the complexity of therapeutic procedures performed during these urgent endoscopies has increased.

Effective and safe care depends on the training, coordination and communication of the multidisciplinary team.

A well-trained team improves patient experience and safety.

Keeping up to date is essential for maintaining service quality.

Success lies not only in the technique, but also in the knowledge, ethics and professionalism of the people performing it.