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'People in the NHS are the chief asset' says SoR in response to Darzi report
The Society of Radiographers has welcomed the Darzi report’s findings on the scale of the problems facing the NHS – but has emphasised the need to be "honest and brave” to reform the health service.
Published on Thursday (12 September), the Darzi report, entitled "Independent Investigation of the National Health Service in England", found the NHS is in “critical condition” amidst surging waiting lists, with serious and widespread problems for those seeking access.
Prime minister Keir Starmer has pledged a “reimagining” of the NHS following the independent investigation – but the SoR has warned any rebuilding project must be “firmly anchored” in the service’s founding principles.
Mr Starmer set out his new vision for the NHS in three pillars: "First, moving from an analogue to a digital NHS. A tomorrow service not just a today service. Second, we’ve got to shift more care from hospitals to communities. And third, we’ve got to be much bolder in moving from sickness to prevention."
The Society of Radiographers has welcomed the Darzi report’s findings on the scale of the problems facing the NHS – but has emphasised the need to be "honest and brave” to reform the health service.
Published on Thursday (12 September), the Darzi report, entitled "Independent Investigation of the National Health Service in England", found the NHS is in “critical condition” amidst surging waiting lists, with serious and widespread problems for those seeking access.
Prime minister Keir Starmer has pledged a “reimagining” of the NHS following the independent investigation – but the SoR has warned any rebuilding project must be “firmly anchored” in the service’s founding principles.
Mr Starmer set out his new vision for the NHS in three pillars: "First, moving from an analogue to a digital NHS. A tomorrow service not just a today service. Second, we’ve got to shift more care from hospitals to communities. And third, we’ve got to be much bolder in moving from sickness to prevention."
‘Lasting, sustainable change’
Dean Rogers, director of industrial strategy for the Society of Radiographers, said: “Lord Darzi’s findings won’t come as much of a shock to anyone who has been listening to this discussion – and it certainly won’t be a surprise to anyone who works in the NHS.
“However, the three pillars outlined by the prime minister are only aspirations at this stage. We need a plan showing us how to get there.
“We want to ensure that the voice of radiographers is heard during the process of developing that plan. We want to see lasting, sustainable change, and an end to short-term political meddling in the NHS.”
Key findings
In carrying out the review, Lord Ara Darzi brought more than 70 organisations together in an Expert Reference Group and sought input from NHS staff and patients through focus groups and frontline visits.
His key findings include:
- The health of the nation has deteriorated over the past 15 years, with a substantial increase in the number of people living with multiple long-term conditions.
- Too great a share of the NHS budget is being spent in hospitals, too little in the community and productivity is too low.
- Waiting lists have swelled and waiting times have surged, with A&E queues more than doubling from an average of just under 40 people on a typical evening in April 2009 to over 100 in April 2024. One in 10 patients are now waiting for 12 hours or more.
- The UK has appreciably higher cancer mortality rates than other countries, with no progress whatsoever made in diagnosing cancer at stage one and two between 2013 and 2021.
- The Health and Social Care Act of 2012 did lasting damage to the management capacity and capability of the NHS. It took 10 years to return to a sensible structure, and the effects continue to be felt to this day.
- Too many resources have been being poured into hospitals where productivity has substantially fallen, while too little has been spent in the community.
‘Extraordinary dedication and selfless energy’
Richard Evans, CEO of the SoR, said: “News reporting following the launch of this important report has largely missed one of the key themes in the report, that the people that work in the NHS are its chief asset. The fact that the NHS is functioning at all is down to the extraordinary dedication and selfless energy of the people that work in it. People like our members. Lord Darzi also sees that the future re-building of the system must involve NHS staff.”
Lord Darzi’s report found that “NHS staff are profoundly passionate and motivated to raise the quality of care for patients. Their talents must be harnessed to make positive change”.
Mr Evans added: “The SoR agrees wholeheartedly with this and looks forward to contributing to the work that will be outlined in the governments forthcoming plan.”
‘No sacred cows’
In order to support the government in its plan to reimagine the NHS, Mr Rogers said that everyone will need to be actively engaged in saving it.
“We can direct politicians to our islands of excellence and help them understand why these exist in some places and not others,” he explained. “This has to be a positive partnership effort.
“We also need to be honest and brave. No sacred cows should remain unchallenged. This will be uncomfortable. We can only achieve it by making sure that this rebuilding project remains firmly anchored in the NHS’s founding principles. These remain secure, and should be what we build out from and measure ourselves against.
“There is nothing wrong with the NHS’s founding values – and we know that it is the dedication and professionalism of its staff that have kept the NHS alive, and will continue to be crucial in the future.”
SoR continues lobbying efforts for sonographer regulation
The Society of Radiographers (SoR) remains steadfast in its campaign to achieve statutory regulation for sonographers. Ongoing discussions are being held with key stakeholders, including the NHS, Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), and the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).
Recently, the PSA conducted a call for evidence on the risks associated with professionals listed on their accredited voluntary register, which includes the Register of Clinical Technologists (RCT). The SoR provided substantial feedback to this review.
On 22 August, the PSA published its findings, stating, “In the case of Sonographers, our Accreditation Panel also determined that the risks appear sufficiently high, and potential impacts on patient safety sufficiently great, to recommend that the four UK governments should consider whether accredited registration provides sufficient assurance or whether additional regulatory oversight might be needed.”
In light of these findings, the SoR will seek meetings with the PSA and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to discuss next steps. The SoR will also collaborate with other organisations to explore all available options for ensuring that sonographers are appropriately regulated, enhancing patient safety across the UK.
Society of Radiographers supports safety training for radiographers
Radiographers at the Royal Free Hospital have undergone training to learn how to administer adrenaline in instances where patients have adverse reactions to contrast.
Usually, an onsite medical presence is required during contrast scans at the Finchley Memorial Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC), but with this training the radiographers can react much quicker to potential allergic reactions.
The training was developed by the CDC in collaboration with the SoR, the Royal Free Hospital resuscitation team and Resuscitation Council UK. Chloe Goodman, operations manager at the CDC and project lead, worked alongside the organisations to introduce the training programme and establish the new safety policy. She was supported by Dr Ash Saini, clinical director for imaging, and Mary Emerson, nurse consultant for critical care and the patient at risk and resuscitation team.
“Anaphylactic reactions to intravenous contrast are rare but life-threatening and require prompt life-saving treatment,” said Emerson. “This is a good example of how staff from any professional background can be prepared and supported to manage a clinical emergency swiftly and safely.”
Since its implementation, the CDC has experienced one adverse reaction, which was quickly addressed by staff.
MRI scan could reduce radiotherapy dose, says study
A type of MRI that sees patients inhale 100 per cent oxygen could result in lower radiotherapy doses for cancer patients, according to a study by researchers at The Institute of Cancer Research, London and the University of Manchester.
Professor James O’Connor of the Institute of Cancer Research, London and the University of Manchester led the study.
The study assessed a technique called oxygen-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (OE-MRI). The researchers mapped areas of tumours that were oxygen deficient – known as hypoxia – in patients with head and neck cancer. Patients with hypoxia typically respond more poorly to treatment.
The ability to fine tune treatment in this way will mean patients will suffer less damage to healthy tissue.
As part of the study, 27 patients beginning standard chemotherapy or radiotherapy were given OE-MRI scans of their primary and nodal tumours. Additional scans were also performed during treatment.
Researchers were able to secure a method to help patients who had tumours with hypoxia by the second week, following a process of mathematical modelling.
NIHR issues £33m in student research funding
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has distributed £33.2m in funding across 12 universities in England to support research training and engagement programmes for students and early career radiographers.
Funding formed part of the INSIGHT: Inspiring Students into Research scheme. It will support the delivery of engagement programmes over three years, with the ultimate aim of educating radiographers about research-based careers. The funding will also subsidise Master’s places to train people new to research roles.
Professor Waljit Dhillo, dean of the NIHR Academy, said it was critical to invest in radiographers starting out in their careers. “I’m delighted that we can invest in our next generation of researchers in this way, and show students all of the benefits that research roles and careers have to offer,” he said.
“The INSIGHT programme will offer more than 300 funded research Master’s places per year and provide engagement activities that have the potential to excite and capture the imagination of students at an early stage in their career.”
MRI technique could replace invasive heart diagnostics
A study conducted by the University of East Anglia (UEA) and Queen Mary University of London has found that MRI could estimate high heart pressure, potentially replacing the need for more invasive types of measurement.
Previous research from the UEA, along with universities in Sheffield and Leeds, had revealed that heart MRI techniques could estimate pressure in the heart. However, at this point it was not known whether heart MRI-derived pressures could produce heart failure in a general population.
The new research, which looked at more than 39,000 participants, also found that people with higher blood pressure were five times more likely to develop heart failure.
Dr Pankaj Garg, co-lead author of the study, called the ability to predict heart failure one of the study’s most “significant findings”.
“This breakthrough suggests that heart MRI could replace invasive diagnostic tests,” he said. “Participants with higher heart pressure measured by MRI had a five-fold increased risk of developing heart failure over six years.”
Society of Radiographers' new breast imaging group officially launches
Noelle Clerkin, advanced practitioner and lead clinical practice educator, has launched a Breast Imaging Special Interest Group (SIG).
Noelle created the group after she experienced difficulties in recruitment related to her doctoral studies.
The group looks to connect radiographers and assistant practitioners based in the UK and Ireland, with the ultimate aim of sharing knowledge and best practice to optimise breast cancer detection and treatment.
Representation is sought across the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Members of the SIG are invited to share their expertise on specialties within breast imaging and, in the future, offer support for research endeavours.
The Breast Imaging SIG is one of the latest SIG's to launch, following the classification of the Professional Alliance of Indian Radiographers as an SoR SIG last month. Those interested in joining the Breast Imaging SIG can read more about the group, and inquire about joining, here.
Image credits:
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Royal Free Hospital
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