The organisation and evaluation of an open-access dysphagia clinic

We describe our experience in organising an open access dysphagia clinic. Any patient with dysphagia for solids of at least one week's duration can be seen within one week of referral. One hundred and nine 'new' patients were referred in the first year. Fifty-five (50.4%) had peptic or malignant strictures. The majority of these received definitive treatment within ten days of the date of referral. This system of referral and treatment improves the speed of detection and treatment of patients with oesophageal stenosis.