Introduction Gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy is an important skill for both gastroenterologists and general surgeons but concerns have been raised about the provision and delivery of training. This survey aimed to evaluate and compare the delivery of endoscopy training to gastroenterology and surgical trainees within the UK.

Method A nationwide electronic survey of UK gastroenterology and general surgical trainees.

Results There were 216 responses (33% gastroenterology, 67% surgical). Gastroenterology trainees attended more endoscopy lists (mean 3.0 vs. 1.2) and training lists than surgical trainees (0.9 vs. 0.5). A significantly higher proportion of gastroenterologists than surgeons had already achieved accreditation in gastroscopy (60.8% vs. 28.9%), colonoscopy (66.7% vs. 1.4%) and flexible sigmoidoscopy (33.3% vs. 3.0%). More gastroenterology trainees than surgical trainees aspired to achieve accreditation in gastroscopy (97.2% vs. 79.2%), flexible sigmoidoscopy (91.7% vs. 70.1%) and colonoscopy (88.8% vs. 55.5%) by completion of training. By completion of training, surgeons were less likely than gastroenterologists to have completed the required number of procedures to gain accreditation in gastroscopy (60.3% vs. 91.3%), flexible sigmoidoscopy (64.6% vs. 68.6%) and colonoscopy (60.3% vs. 70.3%).

Conclusion This survey highlights marked disparities between surgical and gastroenterology trainees in both aiming for and achieving accreditation in endoscopy. Without changes to the delivery and provision of training, as well as clarification of the role of endoscopy training within a surgical training programme, future surgeons will not be able to perform essential endoscopic assessment of patients as part of their management algorithm.

Disclosure of interest None Declared.