Meet the team at York Hospital: ‘A commitment to excellence’
York recently unveiled its cutting-edge SPECT/CT gamma camera at a prestigious event celebrating the work being done at the trust. Synergy paid a visit to find out just what makes working at the hospital so special
By Will Phillips
Having faced years of challenges, the radiography team at York Hospital recently celebrated an unveiling that marked a new era for their department. On 15 January, the team officially opened a new piece of cutting-edge equipment, a SPECT/CT gamma camera, which will reduce patient wait times for scans.
But the journey to this point has been fraught – amid the workforce crisis afflicting the NHS, including radiography, having to grapple with renovations in the hospital and replacing the sole gamma camera unit hasn’t been easy. Thankfully, now the Prospect X3 scanner has been installed, the team has been able to improve patient care, boost the department’s reputation and attract skilled professionals.
With one more difficulty cleared from their plate, the team is optimistic that the department will now have its best foot forward. Synergy caught up with them to find out about their experiences working at York Hospital, and how they hope to operate in the future.
‘It enables us to attract skilled and passionate radiographers’
The Symbia Pro.specta X3 SPECT/CT gamma camera is a piece of equipment that combines single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with computed tomography (CT) to create a single imaging system that provides both functional and anatomical information, improving the accuracy of diagnosis and treatment planning. While similar to conventional nuclear medicine planar imaging using a gamma camera, the SPECT/CT gamma camera is able to provide true 3D information.
The camera replaced what was previously a 19-year-old gamma camera, marking the first new piece of molecular imaging equipment installed at the hospital since the gamma camera itself.
This new scanner was manufactured by Siemens Healthineers, and the scanning room was designed to incorporate calming ambience technology and soothing decorations to improve the patient experience. It should help reduce wait times for patients by being able to conduct multiple types of scans at once.
Dr H’ssein Al-Chalabi, consultant radionuclide radiologist at York, is enthusiastic about the opportunities afforded by the installation of the scanner. He explains that the equipment will bring “profound benefits” including earlier detection of disease, improved distinction on imaging, fewer appointments required and, in many instances, a reduction in scan acquisition duration. His biggest anticipation, however, is the number of investigations that are now possible – for movement disorders, dementia, urological tract abnormalities, gastroenterology symptoms and more. “SPECT/CT will be able to provide more sophisticated imaging to investigate conditions such as joint plain and complications related to joint prostheses, and staging of endocrine tumours, with fewer SPECT/CT images,” says H’ssein.
He continues: “Incorporation of SPECT/CT not only improves patient care, it will increase the reputation of our radiology department. It demonstrates our commitment to staying at the forefront of imaging technology and will enable us to attract skilled and passionate radiographers, technologists and radiologists to complement our already excellent teams.”
This installation, he adds, is a significant milestone for the institution, for the staff and most importantly for the patients of York Hospital. H’ssein thanked the Siemens Healthineers team for their support during technical installation, as well as the work of electrical services teams from John Wright, Stephen George and others. He also thanked the local operations management and capital planning teams, medical physics experts and the Nuclear Medicine Department at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which allowed patients continued access to nuclear medicine during the department’s downtime.
Finally, H’ssein thanked the nuclear medicine team itself, led by Sarah Burn and Joanne Hopkins. “They are an exceptional, compassionate team of healthcare professionals that provides unmatched care to our patients, and their skillset and commitment to excel bring this department to life,” he says. “Patients deserve the best tools available, and all their commitment to this project will allow us to meet that standard.”
‘The whole department is an absolute asset to the NHS’
Sarah Burn, principal radiographer for X-ray, nuclear medicine and vascular modalities, and Rebecca Kranz, radiology quality manager, also attended the prestigious unveiling of the gamma camera. The pair spoke to Synergy about how much they appreciated the collaborative team environment, the support of management and the opportunities for personal and professional development.
Sarah joined the trust in February last year, and was particularly impressed with how the team helped her to adjust to her role in such a busy department. “I think coming in at my level, I really appreciate just how great all of the teams are,” she says. “There’s a real ethos that everybody works together, like a family environment. There’re a lot of junior staff who are really well supported by my colleagues, the management are very supportive, the radiologists too. The whole department is an absolute asset to the NHS.”
Rebecca, meanwhile, has been working at York for eight and a half years. She says she is thankful for the level of support and the volume of opportunities on the table, which helped them fight through the constraints facing the NHS: “Being here for a while now, I do think there’s a lot of support and opportunities for progression. We’re a senior team, so we really fight for every opportunity for the team’s personal and professional development, as well as big projects like this. We’re keen to move the department forward within the constraints on the NHS in general. I think there’s a really strong community spirit in the team.”
And the completion of this SPECT/CT installation, they say, is just one more emblem of that fighting spirit. Rebecca explains that the technology’s broad range of investigative capabilities will help the team bring their patient care into the modern era. York provides a lot of imaging for a large area, with many patients being forced to travel elsewhere. By centralising scanning capabilities, she adds, a huge group of patients will see a massive improvement.
Sarah agrees, saying: “Having one of the front-running bits of kit in this area does give a boost to the team, as well as the patients. It’s nice to have this investment and acknowledge their experience. It’s a challenge to adapt to, something different to keep everyone fresh, and it’s lovely for the patients, too.”
‘New people are embraced and given the opportunity to explore what they want to do’
But while both Rebecca and Sarah are thankful for all the support they’ve been getting from the hospital, the team and the trust, that doesn’t mean the entire operation has been smooth sailing.
Radiographers across the country are facing high vacancy rates, and troubles with recruitment and retention plague departments in nearly every hospital – and York is no different. Sarah explains that York in general is perceived to be a higher-cost area for living in, which can make it difficult to attract new hires from outside of the area. But, she adds, once people do arrive, they rarely leave. “We’re quite fortunate in that we try to create a lot of opportunities for people within our trust,” she says. “That means looking at different modalities, exploring different options for career progression both within radiography and within the wider care group. That’s a really good asset when people come here.
“The nuclear medicine team has seen a couple of new people recently and they echoed that. The team has been here for a long time, and that adds to the welcoming environment. New people are embraced and given the opportunity to explore what they want to do.”
“Everywhere has issues with recruitment,” Rebecca adds. “But we don’t have massive staff turnover, and I think that’s a testament to our whole department. People get here and they want to stay.”
To find out more about the staff experience, Synergy spoke to Joanne Hopkins, nuclear medicine team manager, Nicola Maycock, radiographer specialist in nuclear medicine, and Beth Steele, nuclear medicine radiographer, about their time at York.
Joanne is keen to emphasise just how tight-knit the community and team at York is – indeed, she and her fellow radiographers are like family, she says, sharing a mutual passion and a mutual goal: “Getting the best-quality image for the patients – giving them the best possible experience.”
But while that may have helped ameliorate some issues with recruitment and retention, it hasn’t banished them entirely. The biggest challenge facing the department isn’t new either – it’s one that has been plaguing the trust, and the NHS as a whole, for decades. “It’s always funding,” says Joanne. “The department was very tired; it hadn’t changed for as long as I’d been here, until this scheme. With the old scanner we were very much in the dark ages; it wasn’t going to be attractive to radiographers – but now we’re up to date with technology, we’ve got the newest scanner, so I’d like to think people would be more interested in applying.
“It’s hard to predict how much new scanners cost – but it’s all down to funding. We could do with a lot more investment in training opportunities for staff. Not to get staff trained up, but for CPD for keeping everyone up to date with new ways of scanning, new technology – but all modalities are fighting over the same training fund.”
‘If just one patient comes through that door and has a better experience, then it’s worth it’
But what gives York that key X-factor? What helps them attract – and, more importantly, keep – the radiographers that work there?
In Sarah’s opinion, the answer lies with mutual support. “The trust is investing heavily in diagnostics – diagnostic radiography and vascular imaging, not just nuclear medicine,” she explains. “They’re committed to making us a centre of excellence for a lot of imaging modalities. Having that support at the trust level and down is phenomenal.”
Rebecca adds that the installation of the SPECT/CT gamma camera is just one of many projects coming down the pipeline – one that proves the department’s commitment to becoming a centre of excellence. “At the end of the day, the radiographers and the clinical teams make the service, and we hope that will be reflected in the future, when patients come and they experience the friendliness of the team,” she says. “We just want to give them a positive experience.”
Tom Welton, president of the SoR, also attended the opening of the new scanner. Hearing the team talk about their work and the process of installing the cutting-edge equipment, he spoke proudly of the important work the team has done to support their patients. He said: “Having visited the scanner and the staff that were there today, it’s evident and clear to me that they’re a really good, close-knit team. They have a really nice culture in this nuclear medicine department, and having a new scanner as an addition to that is going to be such an improvement.
“It’s clear they’re proud of what they’ve created and what they’ve got here now – and rightfully so. This is everything we’re in it for. This is what we’re here for. And if just one patient comes through that door and has a better experience, then it’s worth it.”
Find out more about York Hospital
York Hospital, part of York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, offers a broad variety of diagnostic imaging and radiology services to patients in the York area, including nuclear medicine scanning, breast imaging, cardiology, vascular and interventional radiology procedures.
The installation of the SPECT/CT scanner marks the culmination of years of planning and collaboration among staff across the hospital, and is expected to increase the department’s patient capacity by up to a third compared to previous levels.
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