Special Report

UKIO Congress 2023

The annual highlight of the radiology conference calendar welcomed radiographers from across the UK and beyond for the three-day event in June.

This year's UK Imaging & Oncology Congress (UKIO) saw hundreds of practitioners and industry colleagues from multiple disciplines and modalities come together in Liverpool to learn, share and network.

With the theme of Synergy and symbiosis: Breaking down barriers in healthcare,  a re-focussed learning agenda concentrated on 'specialist for the generalist and 'top tips' content, added more sessions on service optimisation, education, and workforce, and placed research at the heart of the conference.

The patient voice was a strong presence in the programme and is set to grow with the appointment of diagnostic radiographer Dr Emma Hyde as UKIO President for 2024-25, and you can learn more about Emma and her plans in this month’s Synergy Profile.

The congress is jointly run by the Society and College of Radiographers, British Institute of Radiology, and the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine, and in 2023 they shared an expanded exhibition stand to enhance the experience for members of all three organisations, and offer dedicated education sessions on site.

Alongside the new research hub, the eposters and research presentations were highly popular. New clinical guidance launched at the congress included the SoR’s work on “The use of simulation in enhancing pre-registration education and training of therapeutic radiographers”. Authors Nicky Hutton and Sarah-Jane Ketterer, both therapeutic radiographers, took time out of their busy schedule at UKIO to film this short video for Synergy on their key recommendations.

The opening plenary at the 2023 congress was delivered by Professor Partha Kar, the national specialty advisor for Diabetes at NHS England, who reflected on his experience of equality, diversity and inclusivity on a 25-year journey in the NHS.

This year’s SCoR Martine Jackson Memorial Lecture featured Una Findlay, Medical Exposures Group Leader at the UK Health Security Agency, who spoke on taking personal responsibility for patient safety.

Matthew Benbow, Superintendent Radiographer for CT & MRI at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital, presented the SCoR William Stripp Memorial Lecture on the topic: “Is an extremity MRI scanner a sensible option?”.

And this year’s SCoR Welbeck Memorial Lecture was delivered by Jenny Keane, radiographer and now National Director of Intermediate Care & Rehabilitation for NHS England, who looked back over her career to offer inspirational lessons on “Supporting people to live their best lives”.