Patients making the difference: The SoR | CoR Patient Advisory Group
The SoR | CoR patient group links patients with the Society’s decision makers to help steer radiography to a brighter future. Synergy attended the PAG’s annual meeting to understand the importance of the group
By Alex Ballinger
Patient care is a vital focus for all healthcare professions, and radiography is leading the way on championing the patient voice.
To help drive patient-inspired care, the Society of Radiographers regularly consults with the Patient Advisory Group (PAG), which gives the SoR and the College of Radiographers a direct channel to patients with experience of radiographer care.
In April, the PAG met at the SoR’s headquarters in London for its yearly in-person conference and Synergy was on-hand to report on the latest developments in the Society’s drive for patient-centred care.
Patient care is a vital focus for all healthcare professions, and radiography is leading the way on championing the patient voice.
To help drive patient-inspired care, the Society of Radiographers regularly consults with the Patient Advisory Group (PAG), which gives the SoR and the College of Radiographers a direct channel to patients with experience of radiographer care.
In April, the PAG met at the SoR’s headquarters in London for its yearly in-person conference and Synergy was on-hand to report on the latest developments in the Society’s drive for patient-centred care.
Patient-focused
Tia Cheang is the most recent addition to the PAG, joining in her capacity as patient trustee on the College of Radiographers Board of Trustees.
This new and important role embeds the patient voice in the work of the College.
“The role is designed to join the PAG to what’s happening on the board,” Tia told Synergy.
“It’s a shift from the old patient advisor role, which was a non-voting role, so it gives the PAG a voting position on the board.
“It also reflects how the College is designed to be more patient-centric in everything they do.”
Tia has a background working for the NHS, specifically in technology where she worked on digital diagnostics including MRI, CT and X–ray.
But as a disabled individual, Tia is also hoping to bring her experience on the receiving side of healthcare to the PAG.
On the importance of the PAG, Tia said: “Certainly from my own experience of being a patient with complex needs, and we talked about it extensively in today’s meeting, when you have complex needs often everything gets pinned on one condition. That’s certainly my experience.
“Patients with complex needs often have very complex needs - it’s not just one condition, it can be 10. I think that we forget that it could be anyone of those conditions.”
“Raising awareness of that is really important.”
Tia Cheang
Tia Cheang
Patient-focused
Tia Cheang is the most recent addition to the PAG, joining in her capacity as patient trustee on the College of Radiographers Board of Trustees.
This new and important role embeds the patient voice in the work of the College.
“The role is designed to join the PAG to what’s happening on the board,” Tia told Synergy.
“It’s a shift from the old patient advisor role, which was a non-voting role, so it gives the PAG a voting position on the board.
Tia Cheang
Tia Cheang
“It also reflects how the College is designed to be more patient-centric in everything they do.”
Tia has a background working for the NHS, specifically in technology where she worked on digital diagnostics including MRI, CT and X–ray.
But as a disabled individual, Tia is also hoping to bring her experience on the receiving side of healthcare to the PAG.
On the importance of the PAG, Tia said: “Certainly from my own experience of being a patient with complex needs, and we talked about it extensively in today’s meeting, when you have complex needs often everything gets pinned on one condition. That’s certainly my experience.
“Patients with complex needs often have very complex needs - it’s not just one condition, it can be 10. I think that we forget that it could be anyone of those conditions.”
“Raising awareness of that is really important.”
Laura Charlesworth, SoR professional officer for education and accreditation
Laura Charlesworth, SoR professional officer for education and accreditation
Unique perspective
The PAG met in-person at SoR headquarters in London on 24 April, attended by patient representatives, long-standing chair of the group Philip Plant, SoR officers and staff, chair of the College Board of Trustees Marcus Jackson, and Society CEO Richard Evans.
After the meeting was officially opened by Philip, the main bulk of the session was led by Laura Charlesworth, who recently joined the SoR as professional officer for education and accreditation.
Laura gave a fascinating in-depth presentation centred around her PhD thesis: ‘Enabling coping in people living with cancer and severe mental illness.’
During her talk, Laura documented the many challenges faced by people with severe mental health problems when receiving care.
The meeting was then opened to discussion and questions around Laura’s thesis, with conversation focusing on the importance of compassionate care for patients, but also the safety considerations for radiographers.
Laura said: “I was delighted to attend the PAG meeting in April, even more so as this was an opportunity to meet with the group in person. I attended on this occasion to share some findings from my research and to explore how the outcomes and recommendations from my study could have maximum impact. The group offered a unique perspective and provided valuable insights into avenues for dissemination that I had not considered.
“Attending this group served as a reminder that people using our services in radiography have a great deal to contribute to our practice across all domains of our discipline and I look forward to further exploring the conversations from the day, but also connecting with the group in the future regarding our education work at the College of Radiographers.”
Discussion then moved to planning the PAG’s patient-voice event, held at the UKIO conference each year, followed by the approving of the minutes from the previous meeting, which then brought the PAG session to a close.
Unique perspective
The PAG met in-person at SoR headquarters in London on 24 April, attended by patient representatives, long-standing chair of the group Philip Plant, SoR officers and staff, chair of the College Board of Trustees Marcus Jackson, and Society CEO Richard Evans.
After the meeting was officially opened by Philip, the main bulk of the session was led by Laura Charlesworth, who recently joined the SoR as professional officer for education and accreditation.
Laura gave a fascinating in-depth presentation centred around her PhD thesis: ‘Enabling coping in people living with cancer and severe mental illness’.
During her talk, Laura documented the many challenges faced by people with severe mental health problems when receiving care.
The meeting was then opened to discussion and questions around Laura’s thesis, with conversation focusing on the importance of compassionate care for patients, but also the safety considerations for radiographers.
Laura Charlesworth, SoR professional officer for education and accreditation
Laura Charlesworth, SoR professional officer for education and accreditation
Laura said: “I was delighted to attend the PAG meeting in April, even more so as this was an opportunity to meet with the group in person. I attended on this occasion to share some findings from my research and to explore how the outcomes and recommendations from my study could have maximum impact. The group offered a unique perspective and provided valuable insights into avenues for dissemination that I had not considered.
“Attending this group served as a reminder that people using our services in radiography have a great deal to contribute to our practice across all domains of our discipline and I look forward to further exploring the conversations from the day, but also connecting with the group in the future regarding our education work at the College of Radiographers.”
Discussion then moved to planning the PAG’s patient-voice event, held at the UKIO conference each year, followed by the approving of the minutes from the previous meeting, which then brought the PAG session to a close.
Recruiting patients
Philip Plant, chair of the PAG, has been involved with the College for more than 13 years.
After suffering from a serious illness and coming into contact with Diagnostic Radiographers during his treatment, Philip became involved with the College to help share the patient experience and guide the work of the organisation.
Philip told Synergy: “I saw the opportunity to try and change something.
“A lot of the solutions are there already and it’s not rocket science, but there’s a hell of a lot of obstacles within health.”
Dave Pilborough, who attended the meeting in his role as SoR president, said: “The patient voice and patient-based advocacy is very much at the forefront of our profession.
“We need to deal with our patients in a holistic way, not just as a diagnosis. The patient voice is key to how we model services going forward.”
He added: “Like we listen to all the partners in industry and in academia about how we should ship our services, it’s key that we listen to patients - they are the ones who have been through this from the other side.
“As much as we can have empathy from a professional point of view, there’s nothing like being told what it’s like from the other side of the treatment couch.”
The Patient Advisory Group is also keen to recruit new patient members, to help bolster its advocacy for the patient voice.
Membership is open to anyone not currently practising in radiography and participants are often recruited through a nationwide advertising campaign.
No particular qualifications are required, but basic IT skills are helpful.
Patients from all backgrounds are welcomed from any parts of the UK, and membership terms are two years, followed by a two-year renewal option.
All travel and subsistence expenses for group meetings are paid by the College of Radiographers in line with its expense policy.
If you know of any patients that may want to support the radiography profession, please encourage them to reach out to Georgina Hylton at the SoR.
Chair of the PAG, Philip Plant
Chair of the PAG, Philip Plant
Recruiting patients
Philip Plant, chair of the PAG, has been involved with the College for more than 13 years.
After suffering from a serious illness and coming into contact with Diagnostic Radiographers during his treatment, Philip became involved with the College to help share the patient experience and guide the work of the organisation.
Philip told Synergy: “I saw the opportunity to try and change something.
“A lot of the solutions are there already and it’s not rocket science, but there’s a hell of a lot of obstacles within health.”
Chair of the PAG, Philip Plant
Chair of the PAG, Philip Plant
Dave Pilborough, who attended the meeting in his role as SoR president, said: “The patient voice and patient-based advocacy is very much at the forefront of our profession.
“We need to deal with our patients in a holistic way, not just as a diagnosis. The patient voice is key to how we model services going forward.”
He added: “Like we listen to all the partners in industry and in academia about how we should ship our services, it’s key that we listen to patients - they are the ones who have been through this from the other side.
“As much as we can have empathy from a professional point of view, there’s nothing like being told what it’s like from the other side of the treatment couch.”
The Patient Advisory Group is also keen to recruit new patient members, to help bolster its advocacy for the patient voice.
Membership is open to anyone not currently practising in radiography and participants are often recruited through a nationwide advertising campaign.
No particular qualifications are required, but basic IT skills will be helpful.
Patients from all backgrounds are welcomed from any parts of the UK, and membership terms are two years, followed by a two-year renewal option.
All travel and subsistence expenses for group meetings are paid by the College of Radiographers in line with its expense policy.
If you know of any patients that may want to support the radiography profession, please encourage them to reach out to Georgina Hylton at the SoR.
Lynda Johnson
Lynda Johnson
Why the PAG matters - SoR professional officer, Lynda Johnson
“Often as healthcare professionals we strive to improve patient care, assuming we know best how to do that. Our PAG members bring a wide range of skills and expertise to our organisation.
“Since working with them, I have been re-educated on the art of listening and understanding. We don’t know best, only patients can tell us what best feels like.
“Despite the efforts and skills of radiographers, every day we hear of examples of care falling short of what we consider gold standard. This has a harmful impact on staff and patients. It has never been more of a challenge for radiographers to take time to listen than in the current workforce crisis.
“Lack of time is commonly given as a reason for not having considered a person’s individual needs. Listening to our patients tell us how small things like introducing ourselves and asking them how they would like to be referred to, give an immediate impression of kindness and reassurance.
“When we rush, our patients tell us they feel processed and often their needs are not considered. Our patients come to us with complex and diverse experiences of life and healthcare. They are vulnerable and may feel disadvantaged by the balance of power. There is a danger that shortcuts and speed initiatives fuelled by devastatingly long waiting lists become accepted practice.
“This does nothing to safeguard our patients and we must resist allowing people to fall between the cracks. Under Philip’s leadership, our PAG members continue to keep us focussed on what really matters to them.
“They help us to innovate and consider the evidence-base in everything we do. They are also a wonderfully generous group of people to work with who volunteer their time and share their stories for the benefit of others.”
More about the Patient Advisory Group
The Patient Advisory Group was set up in 2007 to give patients the opportunity to influence the work of the Society and College and to ensure their views are represented.
The current patient membership of the group is
Tia Cheang
Reena Leila
Liz Doran
Yolanda Green
Clare Hollinshead
Rachel King
Steve Oliver
Linda Samuels
Visit the SoR website or contact Georgina Hylton for more information.
Images: Eva Slusarek
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