Meet the team: Royal Surrey County Hospital
Synergy paid the team a visit to find out what makes the department so special
Will Phillips, staff writer
Will Phillips, staff writer
Will Phillips, staff writer
Will Phillips, staff writer
My first impression of the Royal Surrey County Hospital open day is that it is an unmistakable success. The crowds pass in, out and around the building in massive numbers, whether visiting the half-dozen food trucks arranged in the car park or heading to the various departments for tours, games, talks and more.
Inside is even busier – a choir is gathered in the foyer of the radiology department, singing to the cheers of all the gathered visitors. Informational stalls line the walls, giving staff the chance to shout out about all the hospital’s amazing work, giving children an opportunity to learn more about NHS careers and informing all attendees about the options and opportunities on offer.
On Saturday 28 June, Royal Surrey County Hospital (RSCH) opened up the doors of its Guildford hospital and Cancer Centre to welcome members of the community for a unique, behind-the-scenes experience. While patients might be familiar with waiting rooms and doctors’ offices, many have not had the chance to see all that goes on to keep the hospital running smoothly – including the incredible staff ensuring appointments are kept and scans are taken.
This is only RSCH’s second year running a community open day but, much like the first time in 2023, it’s left the hospital halls packed to the gills. I came along to find out what makes the hospital’s open day such a popular event.
Working my way through the throng of tours, I eventually reach my destination, the radiology department, where visitors are seated for a speech about all the modalities that RSCH offers. Once inside the department, the team of radiographers, support workers, assistant practitioners, administrative staff and volunteers are ready with a warm welcome and glowing praise for the hospital’s efforts to support its staff.
Synergy’s visit to RSCH found a team of dedicated, passionate radiographers eager to shout out about its increasing apprenticeship offering, its work with AI diagnostics and the amazing efforts of everyone to make their work as good as it can be.
Leadership, support and continuous improvement
While I made my way to the hospital’s radiology department, I overheard a tour guide explaining the trust’s most recent Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection. Earlier this year, Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust received an ‘outstanding’ rating recognising leadership throughout the trust at all levels, including of its cancer and diagnostics teams. The CQC emphasised that leadership drove and improved the delivery of high-quality, person-centred care; staff felt respected, valued and supported; and all staff were committed to continually learning and improving services.
This report was clearly a feather in the cap of RSCH, and one that staff were proud to highlight during the open day. “It’s a very comfortable place – really good for students, training and competencies,” explained senior radiographer Nichola Derry, who has been with Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust for 14 years. With the bustle of the open day all around us, Nichola was happy to explain what was going on.
The diagnostic radiology department had a tour of the X-ray rooms available for the public to book on to, where they could witness radiographs being taken on phantoms and play guessing games based on X-rays of mystery boxes. Unfortunately for latecomers, each of these tours was booked up within 15 minutes of the website opening them up.
RSCH’s imaging department has a little bit of everything, and with Nichola guiding us we were able to visit the MRI, CT and interventional rooms – though only at staggered intervals, as the department was, incredibly, still running for emergencies on the day.
As we explored, meeting members of the team from across the department, each of them shared their experiences of working at RSCH. Not only were they proud of the leadership, governance and culture that the hospital fostered, they were also keen to share the respect they felt and the support they received, whether regarding the impact of role extension or their efforts to engage with patients and community.
The open day was one such example of those efforts. “Radiology can be quite scary – the open day means people can see the modalities, play fun games and hear the noises. If people are unaware of that, it can be quite anxiety-inducing,” said Nichola.
Particularly for CT and MRI, which can require patients to stay motionless in an extremely enclosed space, sometimes while surrounded by loud and frightening noises, taking away the fear of the unknown is really important to ensure patients are receiving the care they need. This is particularly true for those patients who are neurodiverse, Nichola explained.
The team was also keen to emphasise that exposing people to the hospital departments, whether adults or children, is really important from a recruitment point of view. Aside from the games and tours, the team also ran a recruitment drive to help give students, young adults and those thinking of changing careers the opportunity to find out what radiography is like, and what the entry requirements are.
‘The staff are amazing, and I couldn’t imagine myself anywhere else’
The imaging department isn’t the only one to benefit from improved working conditions, nor to receive attention on the open day. RSCH’s radiotherapy department offered visitors a chance to get up close and personal with the linear accelerators to understand more about how they work, and even see one in various states of disassembly.
Kat Morrison and Oliver Wright, Therapeutic Radiographers at Royal Surrey Cancer Centre, shared their experiences of working there. “The staff are amazing, and I just couldn’t imagine myself anywhere else really. I wouldn’t want to give it up,” said Kat, a senior Therapeutic Radiographer who has worked at RSCH for six years.
Oliver, who had only been at RSCH for a year, added: “I like the fact that there’s a big research department. They’re constantly looking at how we can develop radiotherapy and move it forward. And we’re never standing still; we’re always looking forwards.
“The jump from third year to new professional was more than I expected, with this added responsibility. But I was quite lucky that I knew the team already from my placement. Now I have that responsibility every day, and I get to talk to the same patients over and over again.”
Kat, meanwhile, has been non-clinical for the last few months because of an injury – but she was determined to use that time wisely. “I’ve been able to gain other experiences, especially in clinical governance, because not many people get that opportunity,” she explained. “We are lucky here. We are given a lot of opportunities. I’ve discovered that I have a great love for clinical governance. I’ve found it’s something I’m really passionate about.”
Kat has also got experience as a practice educator, which was a big help in her newfound involvement in clinical governance: proofreading and correcting and developing documents, as well as creating competencies for other staff. “I’ve created a whole set of competencies for pre-treatment and IVs, and actually changed the way that we do competencies in this department. We used to have to get a certain number signed off to receive them, but we decided that’s not the best way to do it.
“Now, it’s reflection based, which we’re finding is actually working better, because people need to write a reflection on how they’ve learned the skills and what they’ve learned and how it’s helped them, and then they have to have a troubleshooting conversation with their mentor about whatever that competency is. It’s a better way of demonstrating learning.”
‘Investing in people, offering opportunities – we want to knock down barriers’
In September 2026, RSCH will be expanding its apprenticeship scheme by an order of magnitude – including a scheme to help mammography radiographic assistants to develop their careers and become practitioners themselves.
Efforts to recruit more radiographers have already been enormously successful at the trust. Nichola explained that investing in people was a core part of RSCH’s ethos. “Not everyone can afford a degree,” she pointed out. “Investing in people, offering opportunities – we want to knock down barriers. We need to grow radiographer capacity – push from across the sector.”
A key advantage of apprenticeships is the mixture of academic and practical elements, with trainees essentially staying permanently on placement. Incoming apprentices help to create capacity in healthcare. The “flood of people” that apprenticeships unlock is vital to helping patients, added radiographer Emma Wood. “People need to see themselves reflected in the workforce,” she said. “Diversity in radiographers helps patient communication. Awareness of the barriers faced by patients is helped by diversity. Understanding neurodiversity helps with communication.”
And radiographers are encouraged to explore their options – whether that’s completing a postgraduate degree in a specific modality, engaging in research, furthering their education or getting experience in other aspects of their career.
Where RSCH has the advantage, Emma explained, is in its team-led approach to role extension. Radiologists encourage it, and senior members of the team engage in mentorship relations to ensure it works effectively. “We focus on skills other places might not encourage,” she said. “That’s how you get staff retention. You need to feel seen, heard and like you matter. There’s no reason the CEO couldn’t have been a radiographer!”
By the end of the open day, I’ve managed to gather a cohort of radiographers, radiology staff, leadership and other staff to see me off. We pass back by the informational stalls, between the final tours and through the radiology department to get to the foyer once more.
Hours of comprehensive and in-depth introductions to all the hospital’s moving parts have helped me understand that RSCH is more than just a well-oiled machine – it’s a living, breathing organism, one that needs every radiographer and staff member it’s got to maintain the incredible work hiding in its halls.
I leave the hospital thinking about the faces of all the attendees who passed us by. The day has truly been a community event – students have been supported to explore their options, children have been introduced to hitherto unimagined futures, parents have had their fears allayed and patients have left with a greater understanding of their caregivers than ever before.
“This is a really lovely place to work,” Nichola told me before the day came to an end. “Everyone can find their people. They make sure you feel like you matter. That’s what today has been all about.”
Find out more about Royal Surrey County Hospital
Royal Surrey County Hospital is a clinically led NHS trust, providing joined-up care by bridging the gap between hospital and community services. It is also a regional cancer centre and provides learning, continuous improvement and innovation, research and development.
Access its online services here.
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