Getting It Right First Time report on radiology published
Recommendations to deliver imaging in the right place at the right time
Improving the experience of patients should be at the heart of work to increase capacity in radiology services within the constraints of COVID-19, according to a new national report on the specialty from the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme.
The report is now available here: GIRFT Radiology Report
Matthew Dunn, IPEM's Vice President for Medical Physics commented:
‘IPEM welcomes this report and in particular the recommendations it makes to standardise protocols, to replace ageing equipment as part of a programme of investment and for better workforce planning. IPEM and its members will have a vital part to play in achieving this.
Our technologists play a key role in imaging processes, whilst medical physicists (and medical physics experts - MPEs) make a major contribution to training, equipment procurement, acceptance testing, commissioning, radiation dose monitoring and optimisation, QA and safety advice and more. The workforce planning challenge in medical physics alone is considerable, with vacancy rates for those staff supporting radiology already high at circa 12%.
This report is a useful starting point, but to deliver meaningful change a genuinely collaborative approach is needed, and medical physics must be right at the heart of that. IPEM looks forward to working closely with the NHS, the Royal College of Radiologists (RCR), the Society and College of Radiographers (SCoR) and all relevant partners to progress the key recommendations made.’